Sam C. Sarkesian (November 7, 1927 – September 26, 2011) was a prominent scholar of civil-military relations and national security, who published numerous books and articles concerning various topics in these areas. He was also a member of the military, serving in Korea and Vietnam. He retired from the U.S. Army (Airborne/Special Forces/Infantry) as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was also a professor emeritus of political science at Loyola University Chicago, where he was the Chair of the political science department and influenced many new scholars in the field. He also served as the second president of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society (IUS). His memory is strong in the IUS, as many of its fellows were his students.