Ms. Caroline Baxter was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training in August 2021. In this role, Ms. Baxter serves as the principal senior authority on the development of DoD policy on all issues related to military education and training across the Joint Force. Her responsibilities include professional military education, military and joint training policy, training capability modernization, military and joint exercises policy, language programs, and climate literacy.

Immediately prior to her appointment, Ms. Baxter was a Research Fellow at the Eurasia Group Foundation, where she led research on the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific. Previously, Ms. Baxter spent 11 years at the RAND Corporation where she focused on operational strategy, military doctrine and readiness, and defense acquisition. Her work included an analysis of the potential impact of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” an examination of Army operational roles in the Pacific, and construction of a war game for senior Air Force officers to test operational concepts. She was detailed twice to the Department of Defense – first to the Air Staff, and then to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, where she served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary.

Ms. Baxter holds a B.A. with honors in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and an M.A. in International Security Policy from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband and son.