CPT Downing

CPT Sara Downing

Instructor of Economics

sara.downing@westpoint.edu

Biography


Captain Sara Downing is an Economics Instructor within the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. After commissioning as a Military Intelligence (MI) officer from West Point in 2014, she served in a variety of tactical intelligence positions in the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, HI. Most recently, she served as the MI Company Commander for 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Cavazos, TX. She holds a B.S. in Economics with a minor in Statistics from the United States Military Academy and a Masters of Public Policy from Duke University. Sara and her wife Melissa have two cats.

Ongoing Research Projects


The Army Height and Weight Policy: Helpful or Harmful? The Army’s current height and weight policy bears reexamination given its shaping effect on the current recruiting crisis and the change in the Army fitness test. This project examines the history of the height and weight policy and seeks to interrogate its relation to soldier fitness. 

Publications & Presentations


Downing, Sara, and Madison Urban. “The Wagner Group: Paramilitary Terrorism.” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, September 29, 2022.