Speakers
The Honorable Tina W Jonas
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and
Chief Financial Officer, Department of Defense
Tina W. Jonas is Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Defense. With more than 3 million employees, $1.5 trillion in assets, and facilities in 163 countries, the Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest and most complex organization in the world.
As Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer, Tina Jonas serves as principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on all budgetary and fiscal matters. She is responsible for the development and execution of an annual base budget of more than $400 billion, as well as supplemental budgets to support the Global War on Terror, and oversees the development and implementation of DoD financial policy, financial management systems, and business modernization.
As Comptroller, Mrs. Jonas directs the work of 50,000 financial professionals, including the employees of the Defense Contract and Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). In one year alone, DCAA reviewed nearly 36,000 contracts worth $346 billion, and DFAS 2006 processed $424 billion in disbursements,
145 million pay transactions, 14 million commercial invoices, and 57 million general ledger transactions.
As Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Jonas oversaw development of the Department's acclaimed Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness Plan, which is providing a detailed roadmap for improving DoD financial operations and obtaining a clean audit. Indeed, today clean audit opinions have been achieved on 15 percent of DoD assets and 50 percent of liabilities. By the end of FY 2009, the Department anticipates clean audit opinions on 42 percent of assets and 88 percent of liabilities.
The effort to modernize the Department's outdated financial management systems is also producing results - increasing efficiency and productivity, improving internal control and financial accountability, saving taxpayer dollars and most importantly, delivering more resources to the warfighter than ever before.
Tina Jonas joined the Department of Defense in July, 2004. Previously, she served as Assistant Director and Chief Financial Officer for the FBI; Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Financial Management; a staff member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; and as senior budget examiner in the Office of Management and Budget.
Mrs. Jonas graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University and earned an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. In recognition of her achievements as Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Jonas has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Department of the Navy Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Dr. Delores M. Etter
ONR Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology
Electrical Engineering Department
United States Naval Academy
Dr. Delores M. Etter recently rejoined the Electrical Engineering faculty at the United States Naval Academy after serving for two years as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Dr. Etter originally joined the faculty at the Naval Academy in 2001. She was formerly a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder (1990-98), and at the University of New Mexico (1980-89). She was also a Visiting Professor in the Information Systems Laboratory at Stanford University in 1983-84. Her academic interests are in digital signal processing and communications. Her research interests include adaptive signal processing and biometric signal processing, with an emphasis on identification using iris recognition. She has also written a number of textbooks on computer languages and software engineering.
As the Navy's Senior Acquisition Executive, Dr. Etter was responsible for research, development, and acquisition for the Navy and the Marine Corps. She was also the Senior Acquisition Executive for several Joint programs, including the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP). She was responsible for strategic planning and program execution and evaluation across the Department's broad range of programs. Her leadership focused on a set of four key portfolios: ships (included surface ships, carriers, and submarines), air programs (included strike aircraft, tactical aircraft, rotorcraft, unmanned aircraft, and missiles), expeditionary warfare (included land vehicles, amphibious vehicles, and body armor), and C4I/integrated warfare systems (included command/control systems, mission computing systems, radars, gun systems, and satellites). Dr. Etter also provided critical leadership in a number of significant areas including Open Architecture (OA), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and technical workforce revitalization.
From June 1998 through July 2001, Dr. Etter served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. In that position, she was responsible for Defense Science and Technology strategic planning, budget allocation, and program execution and evaluation for the DoD Science and Technology Program. Dr. Etter was also the Principal U.S. representative to the NATO Research and Technology Board. She was responsible for the Defense Modeling and Simulation Organization, the High Performance Computing Modernization Office, and for technical oversight of the Software Engineering Institute. Dr. Etter was also the senior civilian in charge of the DoD high-energy laser research program.
Dr. Etter is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She is also a former member of the National Science Board and the Defense Science Board. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She served as President of the IEEE Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Society from 1988-89, and was Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing from 1993-95. Dr. Etter was a member of the Naval Research Advisory Committee from 1991-97, and chaired the committee from 1995-97.
Dr. Etter has received the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the Secretary of Defense Outstanding Public Service Medal, and the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Dr. Kori Schake
Principal Deputy Director in the Secretary of State's Office of Policy Planning
State Department
Dr. Kori Schake is the Principal Deputy Director in the Secretary of State's Office of Policy Planning. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Schake served as research fellow at the Hoover Institution and as Bradley Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Her areas of research interest are national security strategy, the effective use of military force, and European politics.
During President George W. Bush's first term, she was the director for Defense Strategy and Requirements on the National Security Council. She was responsible for advising the president, White House chief of staff, and national security adviser on defense issues, including the secretary of defense's annual review of the defense program and the president's annual meeting with the Combatant Commanders; developing presidential policy initiatives; and orchestrating interagency coordination for all long-term defense planning and coalition maintenance issues.
Major projects Dr. Schake contributed to while she was in the Bush administration include the 2002 National Security Strategy that defined post-9/11 priorities for protecting and advancing U.S. interests; conceptualizing and budgeting for continued transformation of defense practices; the global posture review, the most significant realignment of U.S. military forces and bases around the world since 1950; creating NATO's Allied Command Transformation and the NATO Response Force; and recruiting and retaining coalition partners for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Prior to her work in the White House, Dr. Schake was a senior research professor in the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. In that capacity, she conducted research on policy-relevant defense issues, particularly military transformation, transatlantic security issues, and strategies for dealing with rogue states. While she was director for European Programs (1999-2000), she developed a research agenda and assigned responsibilities to eight research staff and managed two fiscal year budgets. Publications from this time include The Strategic Implications of a Nuclear-Armed Iran, with Judith Yaphe (National Defense University Press, 2002), "How America Should Lead," with Klaus Becher (Policy Review, August/September 2002), and "Building a European Defense," with Amaya Bloch-Laine and Charles Grant (Survival, spring 1999).
She has also taught in the faculties of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs. At SAIS, she taught M.A. and Ph.D. students in the European Studies program. At Maryland, she taught core and elective graduate courses, supervised dissertation and masters' theses, and served on faculty selection and admissions committees.
From 1990 to 1996, she worked in Pentagon staff jobs, first in the Joint Staff and then in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Dr. Schake has received the MacArthur Foundation Research and Writing Award and academic fellowships from the Smith-Richardson Foundation, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. Other honors include the 2004 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and Outstanding Performance Awards from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff.
Mr Marc Lee
Chairman, Cityforum Ltd and Adviser to Jane's Information Group
After reading Modern History at Oxford, lectured in International Politics at Southampton University when he wrote one book on the UN and edited another. While at Southampton worked principally with the military. Joined the Financial Times in 1971 and worked there for over 20 years as Conference Director, Joint Managing Director of FT Business Enterprises and Conference Adviser. Developed for the newspaper its global conference business and took a special interest in Central Banking, Gold and in the Aerospace, Defence and Automotive industries.
Marc set up Cityforum initially to work on central banking, financial regulatory and multilateral banking issues. At the time of the Robertson SDR the focus of Cityforum moved to defence and in recent years it has developed work in homeland security. He devises conferences for Jane's, and Cityforum has recently started a joint venture with Jane's featuring events in Washington, London and Continental Europe of which this Defence in 2020 and Beyond is one. He advises several public and private sector organisations.
Marc Lee is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and serves as Treasurer Wales and West for that organisation.
Mr Mark T. Kimmitt
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Middle East Policy
Mark T. Kimmitt is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy. He is responsible for policy development, planning, guidance and oversight for the Middle East. Mr. Kimmitt assumed his current position on September 18, 2006.
Prior to accepting his current position, Mr. Kimmitt served as a Brigadier General in the United States Army, assigned as the Deputy Director of Strategy and Plans at United States Central Command. His responsibilities included the development of strategy and plans in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as policy oversight for the Central Command area of responsibility, which includes nations in Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and the Horn of Africa. Prior to this assignment, General Kimmitt served as Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Military Spokesman for Coalition Forces in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Mr. Kimmitt served for over 30 years as a military officer in a wide variety of command, operational and policy positions. He led and commanded at every level of the Army Field Artillery. He served as a Fire Support Officer in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, commanded the 2-320th Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 1st Armored Division Artillery in Germany and Bosnia, and the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery. He has extensive operational experience abroad.
Mr. Kimmitt is a graduate of the United States Military Academy. He holds a Masters Degree (with Distinction) from Harvard Business School. He holds additional Masters Degrees from the School of Advanced Military Studies and the National Defense University, and earned a certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) while serving as an Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics in the Department of Social Sciences at the Unites States Military Academy.
The Honorable Jacques S. Gansler
Director, Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise , University of Maryland and former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
The Honorable Jacques S. Gansler, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, is a Professor and holds the Roger C. Lipitz Chair in Public Policy and Private Enterprise in the School of Public Policy, and is the Director of both the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise and the Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center. As the third-ranking civilian at the Pentagon from 1997 to 2001, Professor Gansler was responsible for all research and development, acquisition reform, logistics, advance technology, environmental security, defense industry, and numerous other security programs. Before joining the Clinton Administration, Dr. Gansler held a variety of positions in government and the private sector, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Material Acquisition), assistant director of defense research and engineering (electronics), executive vice president at TASC, vice president of ITT, and engineering and management positions with Singer and Raytheon Corporations. Throughout his career, Dr. Gansler has written, published, and taught on subjects related to his work. Gansler recently served as the Chair of the Secretary of the Army's "Commission on Contracting and Program Management for Army Expeditionary Forces." He is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Additionally, he is the Glenn L. Martin Institute Fellow of Engineering at the A. James Clarke School of Engineering, an Affiliate Faculty member at the Robert H. Smith School of Business and a Senior Fellow at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership (all at the University of Maryland). For 2003 - 2004, he served as Interim Dean of the School of Public Policy. For 2004 - 2006 Dr. Gansler served as the Vice President for Research at the University of Maryland.
Mr Kent R. Schneider
President and Chief Executive Officer, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association
Kent R. Schneider, AFCEA's president and chief executive officer, is a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He comes to AFCEA from Northrop Grumman Corporation's Information Technology sector, where he served as vice president of business development. In this role, he oversaw the company's long-range strategic planning. He was also a partner in the IT sector's alliance initiatives, and headed up the sector's international business development activities.
After retiring from the Army in 1994, Mr. Schneider became the director of C4I Initiatives at Litton PRC. His subsequent positions include defense systems director of Advanced Programs; general manager, Maritime and Ground Systems; vice president and general manager, C3I Systems; senior vice president and general manager, Defense Systems sector; and president, Defense Systems division.
Mr. Schneider brings to AFCEA the wealth of experience he gained while working for the Army in the early years of information technology. Specifically, his expertise in information systems includes designing, integrating and managing areas related to U.S. Defense Department command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) systems.
Mr. Schneider earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Augusta College, and a Master's in information systems management from the University of Southern California. He is also a graduate of the National War College.
As a member of AFCEA, Mr. Schneider offered his time and talents as chairman of the Association's Budget and Finance Committee and as a member of the executive and technology committees. He also established and then co-chaired the Strategic Development Committee for seven years. Schneider has received the AFCEA Meritorious Service, Chairman's Superior Performance and Educational Foundation Distinguished Service to Education awards, and was named AFCEAN of the Year in 2004. He also has been recognized by Federal Computer Week magazine as one of the top 100 executives with the greatest influence on the information systems community.
Mr Jeremiah Gertler
Vice President, Defense & International Affairs (Acting) , Aerospace Industries Association
Jeremiah Gertler joined the Aerospace Industries Association in August, 2006. Working with AIA's National Security Council, he is responsible for developing policies related to military aerospace, the defense budget, industrial base and workforce development, and homeland security.
For five years, Gertler oversaw the entire defense procurement budget, missile defense, and other matters on the professional staff of the House Committee on Armed Services. Subsequently, as senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, he was principal author or co-author of reports on Department of Defense reform and missile defense, and initiated studies on reserve component roles and missions, systems acquisition, military logistics, and Special Forces aviation.
Gertler was extensively involved in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review while in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was senior analyst for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission during its 1995 round, and earlier served as military legislative assistant to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He began his career as a national security analyst with the RAND Corporation.
He was graduated from Amherst College, the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and the United States Naval War College.
In addition to his AIA duties, Gertler is a member of the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and senior associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
An award-winning writer, Gertler's commentary has appeared in Defense News, Naval Institute Proceedings, Air Force magazine, and the Washington Post, among others, and on national television and radio. He has also written many speeches, op-eds, and other public policy statements for members of Congress and Administration officials, and is principal author of a popular book explaining the defense establishment for laypeople.
Gary A. Powell
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics.
Gary Powell is the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics. The Industrial Policy office is responsible to ensure that DoD policies, procedures, and actions stimulate and support vigorous competition and innovation in the industrial base supporting defense; and establish and sustain cost-effective industrial and technological capabilities that assure military readiness and superiority.
As Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, Mr. Powell directs and manages the development of policies, procedures, analyses, and recommendations relating to defense industrial resources and defense industry trends; the industrial, financial, and economic impacts of DoD acquisition strategies and DoD/contractor management structures; the industrial capabilities necessary to develop, produce, and sustain defense systems; the antitrust and national security impacts of mergers and acquisitions within the Department's industrial supply base; security of supply; and the impact of domestic source procurement restrictions.
Mr. Powell came to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Pentagon, Washington, DC, January 12, 1992, as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production Resources).
Prior to coming to OSD, Mr. Powell spent ten years at Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, MD in increasingly responsible positions. He was Chief, Manufacturing Engineering Division; Chief, Industrial Preparedness Division; and from July 1988 to January 1992, Deputy Director of Manufacturing and Quality Assurance. Mr. Powell was responsible for developing, evaluating, and improving Air Force Systems Command manufacturing and quality policies, procedures, and performance. Areas of emphasis included source selection, production risk evaluation and reduction, production surveillance, productivity improvement, manufacturing process control and variability reduction, industrial modernization, manufacturing technology, Air Force-owned industrial facilities, and industrial base assessments.
Prior to coming to Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Mr. Powell was the Air Force Plant Representative Office Manufacturing Engineer at the Westinghouse Defense Electronics Systems Group (now Northrop Grumman) in Baltimore, MD. He also has held various engineering positions within the Department of the Navy and private industry.
Ms Olga Oliker
Senior International Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation
Olga Oliker is a Senior International Policy Analyst at the Washington, D.C. office of the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses primarily on security issues relating to Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus; transnational threats such as organized crime, terrorism, and human trafficking; security sector reform in the conflict, post-conflict, and development contexts; and general U.S foreign and defense policy. Before coming to RAND, Oliker worked as an independent consultant and held positions in the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy. In early 2004, she took some time away from her RAND research to serve as a special advisor for national security affairs to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, where she focused on assisting in the creation of Iraqi national security decisionmaking structures. Recent publications include Securing Tyrants or Fostering Reform? U.S. Internal Security Assistance to Repressive and Transitioning Regimes; U.S. Policy Options for Iraq: A Reassessment; U.S. Interests in Central Asia: Policy Priorities and Military Roles; "Russian Foreign Investment in the CIS;" and Developing Iraq's Security Sector: The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience.
Tate Nurkin
Director, Jane's Strategic Advisory Services
Jane's Information Group
Tate Nurkin is a Director with Jane's Strategic Advisory Services, a division of Jane's Information Group. In this role, he is responsible for managing Jane's consultancy practice, which provides tailored research and analysis on defense, security and market issues to intelligence and defense communities and defense industry clients throughout the world. Prior to joining Jane's, Mr. Nurkin also worked for Joint Management Services, a defense consulting firm in Atlanta, GA; the Strategic Assessment Center of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); and the Modeling, Simulation, Wargaming and Analysis team at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Mr. Nurkin has 11 years experience in research and analysis of the international security environment and emerging threats to U.S and Allied. security, interests, and assets for defense industry clients, as well as the US and UK defense and intelligence communities and for security communities in East and Southeast Asia. Mr. Nurkin has focused much of his support to government and private sector clients on scenario building and analysis and understanding the implications of plausible future security and operating environments. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Nurkin designed or participated in roughly two dozen alternative futures events for the Director, Office of Net Assessment / Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD/NA) and also designed a series of alternative futures events for offices within the US intelligence community. Over the last two years, Mr. Nurkin has continued his focus on alternative futures analysis and has provided scenario development and alternative futures analysis support to the United States Air Force and energy firms and has spoken on understanding future operating and security environments at conferences in Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo, Japan, and New Delhi, India. Through this support and experience, Mr. Nurkin has developed a thorough understanding of the methodologies most relevant to understanding future threats and challenges as well as a wide-range of issues shaping the future of regional security environments and of the international security environment more broadly.
Dr Anthony H. Cordesman
Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS
Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS. He is also a national security analyst for ABC News. His analysis has been featured prominently during the Gulf War, Desert Fox, the conflict in Kosovo, the fighting in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. During his time at CSIS, he has been director of the Gulf Net Assessment Project and the Gulf in Transition Study and principle investigator of the Homeland Defense Project. He also directed the Middle East Net Assessment Project and was codirector of the Strategic Energy Initiative. He has led studies on the Iraq War, Afghan conflict, armed nation building and counterinsurgency, national missile defense, asymmetric warfare and weapons of mass destruction, global energy supply, and critical infrastructure protection. He is the author of a wide range of reports on U.S. security policy, energy policy, and Middle East policy, which can be downloaded from the Burke Chair section of the CSIS Web site (www.csis.org/burke/). Cordesman formerly served as national security assistant to Senator John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as director of intelligence assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as civilian assistant to the deputy secretary of defense. In 1974, he directed the analysis of the lessons of the October War for the secretary of defense, coordinating U.S. military, intelligence, and civilian analysis of the conflict. He has also served in other government positions, including at the Department of State, Department of Energy, and NATO International Staff. He has had numerous foreign assignments, including postings in Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran, and he has worked extensively in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Cordesman is the author of more than 50 books, including a four-volume series on the lessons of modern war. His most recent works include Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict (Praeger, 2007), Lessons of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War (CSIS, 2007), Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities (Praeger/CSIS, 2007), Iraqi Force Development (CSIS, 2007), Salvaging American Defense (Praeger/CSIS, 2007), and Chinese Military Modernization (CSIS, 2007). Cordesman has been awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal. He is a former adjunct professor of national security studies at Georgetown University and has twice been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. David J. Trachtenberg
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy
Mr. David J. Trachtenberg is an independent consultant on national security issues. He has more than 25 years experience in the national security policy field and has worked at senior levels in the Executive and Legislative branches of government.
From October 2005 to September 2007, he was Vice President and head of the Strategic Analysis Division at CACI-National Security Research, where he provided strategic advice and oversight of CACI-NSRs support to private sector customers. Prior to NSRs merger with CACI in October 2005, he was Senior Vice President for Homeland Security at National Security Research, Inc. From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as NSRs Senior Vice President for Corporate Support.
Prior to joining NSR, Mr. Trachtenberg was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and was responsible for issues relating to NATO, Europe, Russia and Eurasia, technology security, counterproliferation, missile defense, nuclear forces, and arms control. From October 2001 to April 2002, and again from May to July 2003, he also served as the acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces Policy. In this capacity, he headed the office responsible for the Nuclear Posture Review, including policy development for the New Triad. He also represented the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at meetings of the Nuclear Weapons Council. He headed numerous interagency delegations abroad in support of the Presidents direction to the Secretary of Defense to encourage international cooperation on missile defense, leading discussions with Russia on this topic. He was appointed to his OSD position by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in October 2001 and was a member of the Senior Executive Service. In November 2003, he was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest honorary award presented by DOD to private citizens.
From 1995-2001, Mr. Trachtenberg was a Professional Staff Member with the House Committee on Armed Services (HASC) in Washington, D.C. As head of the Committee's policy staff, he handled a variety of defense policy issues, including ballistic missile defense, arms control, Cooperative Threat Reduction (the Nunn-Lugar program), force protection, Bosnia and Kosovo, Iraq and the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), technology transfer, China, export controls, and proliferation. In addition, he was the staff lead for the HASC Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism. He co-authored the HASC investigative report on the June 1996 terrorist bombing of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and was the lead investigator and author of the HASC staff report on the U.S.S. Cole attack. He also helped draft the legislation creating the independent Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States (a.k.a. the "Rumsfeld Commission").
Formerly, Mr. Trachtenberg was National Security Senior Analyst and Member of the Technical Staff at TASC, Inc. (The Analytic Sciences Corporation) in Arlington, VA, where he provided analytic and research support to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and executive support to the Chairman of the BMD Advisory Committee -- the senior independent advisory group of the Department of Defense on all matters relating to ballistic missile defense acquisition, system development, and technology. At TASC, he also worked on counter proliferation issues for the Air Force and the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office. He established and managed the TASC Arms Control and Proliferation Analysis Center, which focuses on contemporary policy issues related to arms control, proliferation and counter proliferation, and ballistic missile defense. He was also a consultant to the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament.
Dr Michael Pillsbury
Consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Dr Michael Pillsbury is a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and author of two books on China published by the National Defense University Press.
He served as:
Michael has taught on the faculties of UCLA, University of Southern California, and Georgetown University, teaching East Asian politics. His BA is from Stanford, and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was a research fellow at Harvard University, and an associate fellow, at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University. He is a member of the IISS and the Council on Foreign Relations
Mr Frank Ruggiero
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Frank Ruggiero was appointed in October 2007 as Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Defense Trade in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM). Mr. Ruggiero played a leading role in the negotiation of Defense Trade Treaties with the United Kingdom and Australia and initiated a series of process reforms at the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, to include a mandatory DAS-level review for OIF and OEF licenses and any pending license over 90 days. Mr. Ruggiero also served as Acting DAS for International Security Operations in the PM Bureau from January-May 2007. In that capacity, Mr. Ruggiero played a leading role in the Department on U.S. security strategy in the Persian Gulf and on political-military issues in the Middle East. Mr. Ruggiero also managed the following offices and programs: (1) State Policy Advisors to Military Commanders, (2) Office of Security Negotiations (Basing) and Agreements, (3) Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, and (4) Office of International Security Operations.
Mr. Ruggiero is a career civil servant and has served in several positions in the Departments of State and Commerce. Mr. Ruggiero has an M.A. in Middle Eastern Affairs from American University and has completed all requirements for a Ph.D. (but the dissertation) in U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia from the University of Virginia.
Major General Charles J. Dunlap Jr
Deputy Judge Advocate General, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr. is Deputy Judge Advocate General, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. General Dunlap assists the Judge Advocate General in the professional oversight of more than 2,200 judge advocates, 350 civilian attorneys, 1,400 enlisted paralegals and 550 civilians assigned worldwide. In addition to overseeing an array of military justice, operational, international and civil law functions, General Dunlap provides legal advice to the Air Staff and commanders at all levels.
General Dunlap was commissioned through the ROTC program at St. Joseph's University, Pa., in May 1972, and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1975. From 1973 to 1975, he served with the Wildwood Crest, N.J., Beach Patrol, and participated in more than two dozen ocean rescues. The general has served in the United Kingdom and Korea, and deployed for various operations in the Middle East and Africa, including short stints in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He has led military delegations to Uruguay, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Colombia and Iraq. Prior to assuming his current position, General Dunlap served as the Staff Judge Advocate at Headquarters Air Combat Command.
General Dunlap speaks widely on legal and national security issues, and his articles have appeared in a variety of publications ranging from the Washington Post to the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. He is the author of "Shortchanging the Joint Fight?", an analysis of counterinsurgency doctrine.
Dr. Loren B. Thompson
Chief Operating Officer, Lexington Institute
Loren B. Thompson is Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit Lexington Institute and Chief Executive Officer of Source Associates, a for-profit consultancy. Prior to holding his present positions, he was Deputy Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and taught graduate-level courses in strategy, technology and media affairs at Georgetown. He has also taught at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Mr. Thompson holds doctoral and masters degrees in government from Georgetown University and a bachelor of science degree in political science from Northeastern University. He was born in 1951 and currently resides in McLean, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts with his wife Carla and two children -- Matthew and Ariel, twins born in 1997. General Dunlap speaks widely on legal and national security issues, and his articles have appeared in a variety of publications ranging from the Washington Post to the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. He is the author of "Shortchanging the Joint Fight?", an analysis of counterinsurgency doctrine.
Mr Tomas Valasek
Director of Foreign Policy & Defence, Centre for European Reform
Tomas Valasek is director of foreign policy & defence. He has written extensively on transatlantic relations, common European foreign and security policy and on defence industrial issues. He is also a senior advisor to the Brussels office of the World Security Institute.
Previously, he served as Policy Director and head of the Security and Defence Policy Division at the Slovak Ministry of Defence. He oversaw the ministry's defence analysis, planning & evaluation activities as well as its legislative efforts, military missions and international security initiatives. He was responsible for relations with NATO and the EU and advised Ukraine and Bosnia, among others, on NATO and EU integration.
Before joining the ministry of defence Tomas Valasek founded and directed the Brussels office of the World Security Institute (formerly the Center for Defence Information, CDI), a Washington, DC-based independent defence and security think-tank (2002-2006). From 1996 to 2002 he worked as Senior European Analyst in CDI's Washington, DC office.
Mr. Valasek is the editor and co-author of "The 'Easternization' of Europe's Security Policy" (IVO-CDI, October 2004), and numerous articles appearing in newspapers and journals including Wall Street Journal, Jane's Defence Weekly, and the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.
He is a holder of an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He speaks Slovak, Czech and French.
Richard Hooke
Head of Aerospace & Defence, Royal Bank of Scotland
Richard Hooke leads the Royal Bank of Scotland's Aerospace & Defence business through its operations in over 50 countries around the world. Formerly a Director at Mercer Management Consulting and Global Aerospace & Defence Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has spent 15 years advising clients on financing and restructuring, corporate strategy and M&A in Europe, the Americas, Middle East, Africa and East Asia. His clients include companies like EADS, BAE Systems, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Korea Aerospace, Elbit Systems, Denel, Thales, Saab, Bombardier and Rockwell-Collins, public entities including Deutsche Flugsicherung and the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, and Private Equity houses such as 3i, Bridgepoint, Graphite and Barclays.
He previously spent 14 years at BAE Systems, serving on the Military Aircraft management committee, running the Group CEO's office and, as New Ventures Director, investing in early stage technology businesses. In 1992, he became Airlines Division Strategy Director.
Richard has a degree in Business Studies (Hawker Shield winner) and an MBA with Distinction and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has published a number of papers on the industry and has addressed audiences in Toulouse, London, Seoul, Sao Paulo, Washington, Paris and Shanghai. He is a visiting lecturer at the Defence Academy of the UK, Shrivenham and at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore.
Mr Byron Callan
Analyst, Aerospace, Defense Security Fund
Byron Callan is an analyst at Perella Weinberg Partners on the firm?s Aerospace Defense Security investment fund. He joined Perella Weinberg in September 2007.
Byron was a Senior Vice President at Prudential Equity Group, LLC from September 2005-2007. He was responsible for equity research of the aerospace/defense sector. From 1993-September 2005, he was First Vice President at Merrill Lynch where he also covered the aerospace/defense stocks and was Global Coordinator for this sector. He covered electronic warfare and engineering stocks as an equity analyst at Prudential Securities from 1984-1993.
Mr. Callan?s research has been recognized by Institutional Investor magazine, where he was ranked for a total of 15 years. In 2005, his research was cited by ?Alpa? magazine. He testified before Congress in 2000 and appeared on ?Wall Street Week with Louis Rukyser? on three different occasions. Byron participated in strategic crisis exercises at the Army War College in 2004 and 2005.
He has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA with Special Honors from George Washington University.
Mr. Callan is married to the former Allison Burrow of New Orleans and they have three children. He and his family reside in Connecticut.