That’s a line of work that implies a career based out of the DMV instead of the Carolinas. I’d expect you’d have far greater likelihood of crossing paths with adjunct professors in the poli sci or history or Econ departments with a background in that field.
Do some digging into where grad schools like Fletcher or SFS or Kennedy or similar tend to get their entering classes. Same with data on recruiting by government agencies or companies in the contractor space.
I totally get why you’d not want to go to Maryland as your instate flagship, but it’s probably the very solid choice for this particular career path. FWIW, and obviously this is a long time ago, I had to make similar geographic decisions for my advanced degree to really open doors for the niche field I wanted to be in. I understand the draw but would encourage Maryland and JMU based in my experience.