Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Dzwonczyk, Logistics
LTC Elizabeth (Liz) Dzwonczyk is a 2007 graduate of the United States Military Academy, where she majored in Geography with Honors.
A logistics officer with experience in armored, light infantry, and echelons-above-brigade organizations, she has built a diverse Army career grounded in geographic thinking and spatial problem-solving. Her early-career operational assignments include platoon leader, executive officer, battalion logistics officer, battalion operations officer, and company commander.
After earning a master’s degree in geography from Penn State, she returned to the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering as an instructor. During her faculty tour, she was promoted to assistant professor and taught GE203: Introduction to Geography, GE340: Geography of Global Cultures, and GE351: Land Use and Planning.
Her most recent operations experience was with the 1st Armored Division as a brigade logistics officer, battalion executive officer, and Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G4 (Sustainment).
She later earned a doctorate in Geography, Planning, and Design from the University of Colorado Denver and was selected as an Academy Professor (Functional Area 47). She currently serves as Course Director for GE203: Introduction to Geography.
Throughout her career, LTC Dzwonczyk has been passionate about understanding the relationships among people, places, and environments. She enjoys traveling, experiencing different cultures, exploring public lands, and studying how geography shapes both human activities and military operations.
Across both her operational assignments and academic career, LTC Dzwonczyk has found that geographic thinking provides a powerful framework for understanding complex problems, making decisions, and leading organizations.
What made her want to return as a faculty member in GEO
As a cadet, I admired the GEO faculty and the impact they had on cadets. Teaching at West Point struck me as a unique opportunity to combine scholarship and military service—to continue serving the Army while helping develop future leaders.
The opportunity to teach and mentor cadets has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Geography encourages students to think critically about environments, cultures, and spatial relationships, skills that are invaluable for Army officers operating around the world.
LTC Dzwonczyck’s advice for company grade officers considering teaching in GEO
Start thinking about the process early. Faculty selection usually occurs several years before an officer arrives at West Point. Developing academic interests, identifying potential research topics, and pursuing opportunities for graduate education can help position you for success. Most importantly, reach out to current GEO faculty. They are excellent resources and are always willing to discuss opportunities, research interests, and career paths.
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Advice for Plebes weighing their major options and considering GEO?
Think about the kinds of problems you want to solve. The GEO Department’s majors—Geography, Environmental Science, and Geospatial Science—are all focused on understanding complex relationships among people, places, environments, and data.
For Army officers, that perspective is incredibly valuable. We operate in diverse physical environments, work with people from different cultures, and make decisions that are shaped by terrain, resources, infrastructure, and geography. Whether you’re studying human geography, environmental systems, or geospatial technologies, you’ll develop analytical and problem-solving skills that are directly relevant to military service.
At the same time, GEO majors provide tremendous flexibility beyond the Army. Graduates pursue careers in geospatial analysis, environmental management, planning, intelligence, data science, public policy, research, and many other fields. The ability to think critically about complex systems, analyze information, and communicate insights is valuable in almost any profession.
Most importantly, GEO majors help you better understand the world around you. Whether you’re interested in people, the environment, technology, or the intersections among them, you’ll find opportunities to explore meaningful questions while developing practical skills that will serve you throughout your career.
Looking back, studying geography taught me to see connections that others often miss. That habit of thinking across systems, scales, and disciplines has been valuable in every assignment I’ve had, from leading Soldiers in operational units to conducting academic research and teaching future officers.