Tom Peterman joined the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in January 1997. He is retired from the U.S. Army, having served 20 years in a variety of aviation command and staff positions in Europe and the United States, and political-military assignments associated with the Asia-Pacific region.

After retiring in 1995, Mr. Peterman worked with local businesses at the World Trade Center in Tacoma, Washington, assisting small and medium-sized businesses conducting trade in the Asia-Pacific region. He also owned his own consulting business. Prior to his retirement from the U.S. Army, he served three years on the U.S. Army, Pacific staff as the Southeast and Northeast Asia desk officer, where he was responsible for coordinating military-to-military activities with countries in those regions. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Peterman served at Fort Lewis, Washington, on a combat aviation battalion staff as the executive officer and on the I Corps staff as the Corps G-5, Civil-Military Affairs Officer. Between 1986 and 1990, he received his Foreign Area Officer training in Hong Kong, California and North Carolina. From 1981 to 1985, Mr. Peterman served in a number of aviation assignments at company and battalion level in Germany. He is qualified in UH-1, OH-58, AH-1 and SOTAS aircraft

Mr. Peterman is presently pursuing a doctorate in political science from the University of Hawaii and holds a Master of Arts degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the University of Southern California; and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California, Davis. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College, the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and the British Ministry of Defense Chinese Language School, where he learned Mandarin Chinese. His interests at the Center focus on peace operations, disaster management, international organizations, and conflict resolution.