Phil Ehr is a retired U.S. Navy Commander with a 26-year active duty career, characterized by a "Mustang" trajectory from enlisted Seaman to commissioned officer. He earned his undergraduate degree while serving at sea before commissioning through Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) in Pensacola. As a Naval Flight Officer (NFO), Ehr specialized in electronic reconnaissance, flying the EP-3E ARIES II and EA-3B Skywarrior with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons VQ-1 ("World Watchers") and VQ-2 ("Batmen"). His operational record includes Cold War reconnaissance, combat support in Operation Desert Storm, and a senior command role in Operation Allied Force (Kosovo), where he oversaw U.S. combat operations during the most intense and sustained combat operation in Europe between World War II and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ehr’s strategic influence extended to shore duty assignments where he provided direct advisory support to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, and senior leadership at NATO. He was a key architect in the transition of declassified space-based sensor technology to civilian agencies, including NASA and NOAA, for high-priority mandates in border security, federal firefighting, and earth science research. A graduate of the Naval War College (1994), he was selected as a 1999-2000 National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where his research focused on the intersection of technology and national security. Following his retirement, Ehr taught at the United Kingdom’s Joint Services Command and Staff College and attended King's College London for War Studies (2008-2011), instructing British officers on strategic security and maritime operations. His institutional footprint includes a significant role in the World Chess Federation (FIDE), where he served on the Verification Commission and led efforts to dismantle Russian-linked corruption networks within the organization.

In the private sector, Ehr founded the George Washington Initiative (GWI), a Washington D.C.-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that applies combat-proven military information operations (IO) tactics to counter domestic political disinformation. The organization focuses on the "MindShare" of the innovation economy and democratic resilience. Ehr has also conducted dozens of high-risk humanitarian aid missions in Ukraine, personally managing the logistics and delivery of critical supplies to frontline regions. His professional profile is defined by a unique synthesis of electronic warfare, strategic diplomacy, and information operations, positioning him as a critical operator in the defense of democratic infrastructure.