Matthew Schehl Biography

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Dionne | Matt Schehl, NPS Sr. Writer/Editor, Public Affairs Office  

MONTEREY, CA, UNITED STATES

01.17.2019

Story by Matthew Schehl  

Naval Postgraduate School

Matthew Schehl joined the Naval Postgraduate School public affairs team as Senior Writer/Editor in February 2018, where he plies his trade crafting features content for the university’s various publications. Before this, he worked as a journalist for Marine Corps Times, Army Times, and various other news organizations in Washington, D.C. and Kurdistan, Iraq. Schehl obtained his Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 2015, specializing in national security reporting.

Prior to this, he served as a U.S. Army Civilian Human Terrain Analyst with the Human Terrain System program, conducting ethnographic field research in Iraq and Afghanistan. Drawing on graduate work in social anthropology at the University of Montana, Schehl provided U.S. and Coalition forces with relevant socio-cultural information critical to a counterinsurgency operational environment.

Schehl, a Chicago native, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1997 as a Counterintelligence Agent after obtaining undergraduate degrees in 19th Century German poetry and Economics from Northern Illinois University, serving in the U.S., Germany, and Iraq. As a Non-Commissioned Officer, Schehl studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute and led human intelligence collection teams deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom II & III.

He is the 2018 Civilian Writer of the Year, Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards; his other awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, NATO ISAF Medal, and honorary spurs bestowed by the 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment.

• Date Taken: 01.17.2019
• Date Posted: 01.17.2019 15:32
• Story ID: 307386
• Location: MONTEREY, CA, US