Before earning the Ph.D. in Politics with a National Security focus from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, Wade Shol served in the U.S. military for fifteen years. He began as an enlisted serviceman in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1980 and later joined the U.S. Navy serving on active duty until 1992 when he was honorably discharged with the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

Dr. Shol's personal experience offers active duty military personnel and veterans the benefit of his perspective on how to achieve their higher education objectives.

Dr. Shol successfully completed both his Associates (1985) and Bachelors (1992) degrees while serving on active duty. This was accomplished by attending night school and taking 'Forces Afloat' classes while at sea. He also completed college correspondence courses while assigned to isolated duty locations where formal classroom training was not available. This experience enables him to fully understand the challenges faced by military personnel as they work toward a college degree.

Dr. Shol's military training includes assignment to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, Amphibious Assault Vehicle School, Camp Pendleton, California; Machinist Mate Class 'A' School, Great Lakes, Illinois; Naval Nuclear Power School, Orlando, Florida; and Main Propulsion Maintenance School, Norfolk, Virginia. Military duty stations included the U.S. Marine Corps 4th Infantry Division (1981); the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1982-1987); and Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 33rd Winter-Over Detachment (1987-1988). Following a temporary duty assignment to New Zealand, Dr. Shol then spent his last three years of service as an instructor at the Pacific Fleet Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) School, Coronado, California. Military awards include the Navy Commendation Medal; two Navy Achievement Medals; Commander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet, Letter of Commendation; Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS); and Master Training Specialist (SERE) designation.

Dr. Shol earned the Master of Arts degree in International Studies at The Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California, in 1998. While there he created a formula that measures national power potential based on several social, economic, and military trends exhibited over the previous decades. The forecast enables analysts to measure up-and-coming superpower challenges. He later was awarded a Sarah Scaife Foundation research fellowship to pursue doctoral studies in the United Kingdom under Dr. Colin Gray, a National Security scholar and former consultant to President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council (NSC). He completed post-graduate certification at the University of Hull and was awarded the Ph.D. in Politics, National Security focus, in 2006 from the University of Reading. Dr. Shol is Adjunct Professor of Government at Lone Star College - Montgomery in Conroe, Texas and is a Founding member of the Faculty of Yorktown University. Dr. Shol teaches Environmental Politics (Govt301) and Political Correctness (Govt403) at Yorktown University.