Paul Rieckhoff, also known as P.J. Rieckhoff, is an American writer, social entrepreneur, activist, veteran, and podcast host. A graduate of Amherst College with a BA in political science (1998), he attended James I. O'Neill High School in Highland Falls, NY, where he was a varsity football and rugby player, hosted a radio show, and served as student government president. He worked as an investment banker on Wall Street before enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserve on September 15, 1998, post-9/11, serving as a specialist with the 812th Military Police Company (1998-1999) after training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Commissioned as a First Lieutenant in 2001, he was a platoon leader in A Company, 1-105th Infantry (Light), New York Army National Guard, and deployed to Iraq (2003-2004) with the 124th Infantry Regiment attached to 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, leading an infantry rifle platoon in Baghdad. He was released from the Army National Guard in 2007 and awarded the Army Commendation Medal. He is also described as a former high school football coach and 9/11 First Responder.

Rieckhoff founded Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in 2004, serving as its CEO and Executive Director until 2019, where he advocated for veterans' issues, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act. He has testified before Congress (2007, 2011), supported the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, military sexual assault reforms, and refugee resettlement. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an Ashoka Fellow (2010). Currently, he is President of Righteous Media Inc. and host of the Independent Americans podcast. In 2021, he served as the Karl Loewenstein Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Amherst College, teaching 'Understanding 9/11'.

Rieckhoff authored Chasing Ghosts: Failures and Facades in Iraq (2006/2007), criticizing the Iraq War, and has produced documentaries such as Warrior Champions and Reserved to Fight. He appeared in Green Zone and has been a frequent media commentator on NewsNation, MSNBC, Stephen Colbert, and Nicolle Wallace. He praised American Sniper as the best film about the Iraq War (Variety, 2015) but criticized The Hurt Locker (2008) for inaccuracies. Described as 'edgy, controversial' by Joe Klein, he has no known criminal or legal issues.

Among his awards: GQ's 50 Most Powerful in D.C. (#37, 2009), Rolling Stone's Quiet Ones (2012), Verge 50 (2013), Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Amherst (2013), and NY State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame (2016).

In personal life, he is married to Lauren Hale Rieckhoff and is the father of two sons. As a prominent veterans' advocate and former Executive Director of IAVA, he has opposed Pete Hegseth's nomination for the VA role.