Fellows

Dr. Carl Castro is currently professor and director of the Military and Veteran Programs at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California.  Castro is one of the leading military behavioral theorists in the world.  Before joining the University of Southern California, Professor Castro served in the U.S. Army for over 30 years.  He began his military career as an infantryman in 1981, and completed two tours in Iraq, as well as serving on peacekeeping missions to Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Kosovo, retiring at the rank of colonel.  While on active duty, he conducted the first-ever behavioral health assessment of service members while they were still conducting active combat operations, setting a new standard of care for service members during combat.

Castro has chaired numerous NATO and international research teams and he is currently Chair of a NATO research group on Military Veteran Transitions and Co-Chair of a team exploring the development of Military and Veteran Radicalization; a Fulbright Scholar; and member of several Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs advisory boards.  His current research efforts are broad and include: (a) the exploration of the military culture that leads to acceptance and integration of diverse groups; (b) understanding and ameliorating the effects of military trauma and stress, especially combat and deployment, on service members, family, and unit readiness; (c) the prevention of suicides and violence such as sexual assault and bullying; and (d) evaluating the process of transitioning into the military and transitioning from military service back to civilian life.