Major (USAF) Matthew Morgan
307BW, 307 OSS/IN
Maj Matthew C. Morgan serves as the 307th Bomb Wing Senior Intelligence Officer at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. He is responsible for supervising and training intelligence personnel within the 307th BW and instructing the next generation of B-52 Stratofortress aircrew at the Formal Training Unit.Maj Morgan graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology and was direct commissioned as a captain through Officer Training School in 2005 as a speech pathologist. He served as a Speech Pathologist at Keesler AFB, MS and Lackland AFB, TX before completing the Intelligence Officer Training Course in 2009 and transitioning to an intelligence officer at Dyess AFB, TX where he provided intelligence support to the 7th Bomb Wing B-1B Lancer operations.
In 2011 Capt Morgan mobilized in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and NEW DAWN providing intelligence support to U.S. Army and Iraqi Special Operations as the lead for Document and Media Exploitation (DOMEX). Capt Morgan was instrumental in exploitation of captured materials from enemy combatants, removal of inside the wire threats and establishing Iraq’s first indigenous DOMEX Cell. In 2012 Capt Morgan was assigned to the 917th Operations Support Squadron, Barksdale AFB, LA as an intelligence analyst supporting A-10 Thunderbolt operations. In 2013 Capt Morgan transferred to the 307th BW, serving as an intelligence instructor at the B-52 FTU. In 2016 and 2018 he served as the lead intelligence officer for AMPLE STRIKE exercises and Bomber Task Force exercises at Royal Air Force Base Fairford, Fairford, UK. In 2019 Maj Morgan was assigned as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB where he supervises eleven Total Force Enterprise intelligence analysts supporting the B-52 FTU. He also serves as the head of intelligence for the 307th Bomb Wing providing direct intelligence support to wing leadership.
Mark Schneider
NIPP
Dr. Mark Schneider is a Senior Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy. Before his retirement from the Department of Defense Senior Executive Service, Dr. Schneider served in a number of senior positions within the Office of Secretary of Defense for Policy including Principal Director for Forces Policy, Principal Director for Strategic Defense, Space and Verification Policy, Director for Strategic Arms Control Policy and Representative of the Secretary of Defense to the Nuclear Arms Control Implementation Commissions. He also served in the senior Foreign Service as a Member of the State Department Policy Planning Staff.
Steve Blank
FPRI
STEPHEN BLANK is an internationally recognized expert on Russian foreign and defense policies and international relations across the former Soviet Union. He is also a leading expert on European and Asian security, including energy issues. Since 2020 he has been a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute www.fpri.org. In 2020-21 he also was a Senior Expert for Russia at the U.S. Institute of Peace From 2013-2020 he was a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, www.afpc.org From 1989-2013 he was a Professor of Russian National Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania. Dr. Blank has been Professor of National Security Affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute since 1989. In 1998-2001 he was Douglas MacArthur Professor of Research at the War College.
Dr. Blank has consulted for the CIA, major think tanks and foundations, chaired major international conferences in the USA and abroad In Florence, Prague, and London, and has been a commentator on foreign affairs in the media in the United States and abroad. He has also advised major corporations on investing in Russia and is a consultant for the Gerson Lehrmann Group. He has published over 1300 articles and monographs on Soviet/Russian, U.S., Asian, and European military and foreign policies, including publishing or editing 15 books, testified frequently before Congress on Russia, China, and Central Asia for business, government, and professional think tanks here and abroad on these issues. He has also appeared on CNN, BBC, Deutsche Welle, CNBC Asia, and is a regular guest on VOA.
Prior to his appointment at the Army War College in 1989 Dr. Blank was Associate Professor for Soviet Studies at the Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education of Air University at Maxwell AFB. He also held the position of 1980-86: Assistant Professor of Russian History, University of Texas, San Antonio, 1980-86, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian history,University of California, Riverside, 1979-80. Dr. Blank's M.A. and Ph.D. are in Russian History from the University of Chicago. His B.A is in History from the University of Pennsylvania.
Christopher Yeaw
NSRI
Dr. Christopher Yeaw is the Associate Executive Director for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Programs at the National Strategic Research Institute, U.S. Strategic Command’s University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). An integral component of the University of Nebraska, NSRI leads and leverages collaborative efforts with other academic institutions, National Laboratories, FFRDCs, UARCs, and non-profit organizations. NSRI’s responsively and enduringly supports the US government in successfully executing the strategic deterrence, nuclear and counter-WMD missions with world class research and analysis. The Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Programs Department leads thought and collaborates across the entire range of strategic and nuclear issues: deterrence policy, threat analysis, weapon design, strategic materials, NC3, wargaming, nonproliferation, counter-terrorism, and education.
Immediately prior to his appointment at NSRI, Dr. Yeaw was the National Nuclear Security Administration's Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Programs, having served as the Department of Energy's lead official in the development and rollout of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Formerly, he was the founder and director of the Center for Assurance, Deterrence, Escalation, and Nonproliferation Science & Education (CADENSE), a nuclear weapons think tank at the Louisiana Tech Research Institute. From 2010-2015, Dr. Yeaw served in a Senior Executive position as the first Chief Scientist of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), which was established in 2009 to organize, train, equip, operate, secure, and maintain all U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear-capable bomber forces.
Dr. Yeaw began his career in 1996 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center as a lead missile defense engineer following his graduation with a doctorate in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Next, he served as a lead nuclear weapons technical intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. After his tenure at DIA, Dr. Yeaw served as the Principal Advisor for Nuclear Matters to the Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance, during which time he was a member of the first U.S. special diplomatic mission to Libya and led the initiation of the dismantlement of the Libyan covert nuclear weapons program. He then served as the Chief Scientist of the Department of Energy's Office of Intelligence. Finally, prior to his AFGSC assignment, he was an Associate Professor and Director of the Mahan Scholars Research Program at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where he also founded the STRATCOM-sponsored Deterrence & Escalation Game and Review (DEGRE) nuclear war game series.
Chris Ford
Stanford University
Dr. Christopher Ford is a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a Visiting Professor in Missouri State University’s Graduate Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. Dr. Ford previously served as a MITRE Fellow at the MITRE Corporation, where he was also the founding Director of the Center for Strategic Competition (CSC).
From January 2018 until January 2021, following his unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Dr. Ford served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation. He also exercised the authorities of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security from October 2019 until his resignation from the Department. During his tenure at State, Dr. Ford helped lead the Department’s reorientation to support U.S. competitive strategy vis-à-vis China and Russia, with a particular focus upon technology denial and national security export controls. He also realigned his bureau’s structure to ensure better support for U.S. competitive strategy, reformed its $265 million in nonproliferation capacity-building programming to tie is to intelligence-informed threat assessments, and led new initiatives such as the “Creating an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament” dialogue. When performing the duties of the Under Secretary, Dr. Ford also approved hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. arms transfers, including to Taiwan.
Before his service at State, Dr. Ford served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Counterproliferation at the U.S. National Security Council. There, among other things, he led the development of the U.S. Government’s responsive strategy to Russian violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Open Skies Treaty, contributed to the drafting of the 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy and the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, and ran the Administration’s internal “Nuclear Vision Review” of disarmament policy.
A veteran of many years as a congressional staffer, Dr. Ford served in senior roles on the staffs of the U.S. Senate’s Committees on Foreign Relations, Banking, Appropriations, Governmental Affairs, and Intelligence, as well as serving as staff director of the Permanent Select Committee on Investigations. He has also been a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, and a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. From 1994 until 2011, Dr. Ford served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, which he left with an Honorable Discharge at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard who got his doctorate at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and a law degree from Yale, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the American Society of International Law.
Dr. Ford is the author of three books – China Looks at the West: Identity, Global Ambitions, and the Future of Sino-American Relations (2015), The Mind of Empire: China’s History and Modern Foreign Relations (2010), and The Admirals’ Advantage: U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War (2005) – as well as a great many articles and monographs. His personal website is https://newparadigmsforum.com.
Howard Kosht
AFGSC A5
Mr. Howard Kosht is the Executive Director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. He assists the Director in oversight of all functions relating to strategic planning, establishing requirements, and securing programming for our nation's more than 33,700 professionals operating at two Numbered Air Forces and eleven active-duty units, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve wings. Weapons systems assigned to the command include; Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, Sentinel, B-1, B-2, B-52 and B-21 bombers, MH-139 and UH-1N helicopters, the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft
(NAOC), and the Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) systems.
Mr. Kosht was commissioned in 1987 and served 24 years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. In his Air Force military roles, Mr. Kosht served in a broad range of Air Force unit, wing, MAJCOM, Combatant Command and Joint positions.
Maj Gen Mark B. Pye
HAF AF/SAF/AQP
Maj. Gen. Mark B. Pye is the Director of Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He is responsible for the direction, planning and programming of more than 150 Air Force, joint service, and international programs to include the F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, Next Generation Air Dominance, Minuteman III, B-1, B-2, B-52, E-4B NAOC, NC3, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, B61, Long Range Standoff, and Ground Based Strategic Deterrent programs with a $22 billion annual budget.
Maj. Gen. Pye entered the Air Force in 1994 after commissioning through the U.S. Air Force Academy. His operational experience includes flying combat support missions in the KC-10 during operations Desert Strike, Southern Watch and Allied Force. Following entry into the B-2 program, Maj. Gen. Pye flew combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, became a weapons officer, and later led the opening strike mission for Operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011. He has more than 3600 flying hours, including operational test pilot time in the B-52, having served as Vice Commander, 53rd Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Maj. Gen. Pye has commanded at the squadron and wing level, served on Headquarters 8th Air Force staff, led joint strategy and operational design teams at U.S. Strategic Command, served as Deputy Director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements, Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, and served as a National Defense Fellow at Stanford University. Prior to his current assignment, Maj. Gen. Pye was the Director, Concepts and Strategy, A5/7S, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.
Frank Miller
Scowcroft Group
The Honorable Franklin Miller is a principal at the Scowcroft Group in Washington, DC. He dealt extensively with nuclear policy and nuclear arms control issues during his 31 year government career, which included senior positions in the Defense Department and on the NSC staff. He was directly in charge of US nuclear deterrence and targeting policy from 1985 to 2001 and also chaired NATO’s senior nuclear policy committee, the High-Level Group, from 1997 to 2001. He is a member of the Strategic Command Advisory Board and served on Defense Policy Board from 2008-2020.
He served on the 2008 Secretary of Defense Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management (Schlesinger Task Force), on the 2013-2014 Congressional Advisory Panel on the Nuclear Security Enterprise (Mies-Augustine Panel), and is currently a member of the on-going Congressional Commission on Strategic Posture. He publishes frequently on deterrence and arms control issues. He has been awarded the Defense Department's highest civilian award, the Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, five times and received the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal in lieu of a sixth award. Mr. Miller has also been awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit (Grand Officer), the French Legion of Honor (Officer), and Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon). A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Director of the Atlantic Council, he received his BA from Williams College and his MPA from Princeton University. He served as a surface warfare officer from 1972 to 1975.
Wendy Baca
Weapons Knowledge Preservation and Transfer Program Manager, TechSource
Wendy Baca started her career in 1987 with the Department of Energy in what was then known as the Albuquerque Operations Office. She was hired to fill the W87-1 Small Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (SICBM) Program Engineer position where one of her first tasks was to issue the Phase 3, Development Engineering, authorization to the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex. Although the program was cancelled a short time later, she continued to work in numerous Federal Program Manager roles for the next 25 years. The majority of Wendy’s work focused on the ICBM programs where she was also the Director of the DOE’s and later, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s), ICBM Division for 9 years. During that time, her primary focus was the First Production Unit through completion of the W87 Alt 342, which was also referred to as the W87 Life Extension Program. Wendy’s other Federal Program Manager positions included the Pantex Stage Right Program, the AT-400A Pit Container, the DOE/NNSA Dismantlement Program, Plutonium Sustainment, and the Modernization Programs.
After retiring from DOE/NNSA in 2012, Wendy worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as an Executive Advisor in the Principal Associate Directorate for the Weapons Program. In 2015, Wendy became the Director of the Integrated Program Management Office in the Plutonium Science and Manufacturing Division where she focused on the ongoing LANL Production Agency efforts to include plutonium pits.
Wendy worked at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) from February 2017 until October 2022. She started in the Military Liaison Department as the W80-1/W84 Field Engineer and she finished her SNL career as the Manager of the Accident Response Group and Legacy Hardware Laboratory Department.
In 2021, Wendy joined TechSource Inc’s Weapons Knowledge Preservation and Transfer Program where she works with the team to develop and deliver instructional modules for new and mid-career employees across the Nuclear Security Enterprise. As a Subject-Matter-Expert, Wendy provides lessons learned, experiences, and perspectives regarding the NNSA’s Weapons Acquisition Process that she has gained over the past 35 years.
Since November 2022, Wendy has also been a consultant with MELE Associates where she is part of the NNSA’s Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation “Reserve Force” which is a cadre of retired employees that provides expertise and support to the NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team.
Wendy earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona and her Master of Science degree from New Mexico State University both in Industrial Engineering.
Mike Beltrani
Vice President, Strategic Mission Systems, General Dynamics Mission Systems
Mike Beltrani joined General Dynamics Mission Systems in 2020 and is currently vice president of the Strategic Mission Systems business area. Strategic Systems provides strategic warfare systems solutions to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.
Mr. Beltrani oversees and manages the execution of multi-discipline design and production teams for the launch control system of submarine launched nuclear ballistic missiles. General Dynamics Mission Systems has integrated and modernized this system for more than 60 years. Mr. Beltrani’s portfolio also includes weapon system security solutions, guidance, navigation and electronic systems production and repair, and high assurance communications. Similar work is performed for the U.S. Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile strategic deterrent. Mr. Beltrani provides leadership for more than 1,200 employees across a variety of programs, manufacturing, and field personnel. Prior to this role, Mr. Beltrani led strategy and business development for the Strategic Mission Systems business area and was the segment director for Nuclear Weapon Security.
Prior to joining General Dynamics Mission Systems, Mr. Beltrani was vice president of business development at L3Harris Reconnaissance Mission Systems sector. Before joining L3Harris, Mr. Beltrani held program management and business development executive leadership roles at Telephonics and BAE Systems. Prior to joining industry, Mr. Beltrani served in the Air Force for seven years, with his last role in program management.
Mr. Beltrani received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Assumption University and holds a Master of Business Administration from Western New England University. He also received Project Management Institute’s Program Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Lt Gen (USAF, ret) Tim Fay
Senior Director, Space and Launch Field Marketing Business Development Defense, Space & Security, Boeing
Timothy (Tim) Fay is senior director, Space and Launch Field Marketing, Business Development, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, where he leads personnel in three field offices throughout the United States that serve as an essential link between Boeing and its customers. In this role he is responsible for ensuring the business units fully understand the customers’ requirements.
Fay came to Boeing after consulting for McKinsey & Company, where he provided strategic analysis, operational perspectives and senior-leader insight to client support teams. He began his private sector career after a 34-year career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant general.
In his final assignment, Fay was director of staff, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., where he synchronized and integrated policy, plans, positions, procedures and cross-functional issues for the headquarters staff.
Other key assignments include instructor pilot and weapons officer duties in the B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit bombers and staff service at Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Forces Iraq, Joint Staff and the Air Staff. He served in operations Desert Storm, Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom and commanded at the squadron, group and wing level. In addition, he’s a command pilot with more than 3,900 flight hours in the B-52, B-2, T-38 and T-37.
Fay is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s National Security Advisory Council; senior fellow and regent, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; and a member of the Air and Space Force Association.
A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Fay holds a Master of Science in administration, Central Michigan University; a Master of Business Administration, California State University, Stanislaus; a Master in International Relations, University of Belgrano, Argentina; a Master in Military Operational Arts and Sciences, Air Command and Staff College; and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy, from the National War College.
Tony R. Jimenez
President and Chief Operating Officer, JRC Integrated Systems
Mr. Jimenez is the President and Chief Operating Officer of JRC Integrated Systems. He is responsible to the CEO for corporate leadership and management of JRC to implement its mission and core values. In addition to leading the company’s financial metrics, business goals, and objectives, he is responsible for establishing policies to support the company’s culture and vision.
Mr. Jimenez has over 20 years of experience in Advanced Technology Development in DoD Computer Systems and Artificial Intelligence Applications. He was a Fellow at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory where he focused on statistical and reinforcement machine learning. During his time at Draper, Mr. Jimenez worked on several projects in support of the US Navy Strategic Systems Programs. He is currently looking at using Artificial Intelligence to solve the complex problem of microchip design in microelectronics to meet special DOD requirements.
As JRC’s COO, Mr. Jimenez works to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. Mr. Jimenez and his team are passionate about the success of his customers and his employees.
Mr. Jimenez holds a Bachelor of Science degree as well as a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
Jim Riedel
Group Vice President, Agile Prime Pursuits, Aerospace and Defense, MOOG
Jim joined Moog in 1987 as a Product Engineer in the East Aurora, NY location. His primary responsibility was cognizant engineer for production of fin steering controls for Tactical Missile programs. Jim joined Moog's Design Engineering Department in 1990 where he held the position of Project Engineer with emphasis on electromechanical control opportunities for commercial and military aerospace applications.
In 2000, Jim accepted the position of Product Line Engineering Manager. His responsibilities included supporting the business capture, design, technology development and production of aerodynamic surface and fluid propulsion steering controls for Moog's Tactical Missile Product Line programs.
In 2006, Jim became Business Unit Director of the Tactical Missile Solutions business. He temporarily relocated to Orlando, Florida to provide senior leadership as well as technical, business development, and General Management guidance for an acquired Moog business specializing in Weapon Stores Management and innovative Weapon System products and integration services.
In 2012, Jim earned the position of Group Vice President, Defense Sector for the Space and Defense Group of Moog Inc. Six Business Units (Missile Systems, Defense Control / Turreted Weapon Systems, Defense International, Integrated Defense Systems, Sensor and Surveillance Systems, and Naval Systems) align within his leadership of the Defense Sector.
In 2022, Jim was promoted to, and currently holds the position of Group Vice President, Agile Prime Pursuits, reporting to Moog’s Chairman and CEO. His primary focus is to expand Moog’s system-of-systems product and service related business leveraging enterprise-wide capabilities coupled with strategic industry partners.
Scott A. Vander Hamm
Vice President & Corporate Lead Executive US Strategic Command and Air Force Global Strike Command USAF Customer Relations Team, Government Relations Northrop Grumman Corporation
Scott A. Vander Hamm is a Vice President and Corporate Lead Executive for Northrop Grumman’s Midwest regional office based in Bellevue, NE, representing all sectors and respective business activities. He reports to Charlie Lyon, Vice President Air Force programs, Northrop Grumman Corporation Government Relations, Falls Church, VA.
As Vice President, Government Programs and Corporate Lead Executive, Vander Hamm responds to and represents Northrop Grumman to our customer base, and to our peer industry partners/competitors, and all other smaller business leaders in the region. The region includes US Strategic Command at Offutt
Air Force Base, Nebraska, as well as Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, LA and other US Strategic Command components across the continental United States.
Vander Hamm retired from the U.S. Air Force on December 1, 2017, after 32 years of service. His final assignment was Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations for Headquarters Air Force. He was promoted to major general in 2013.
During his Air Force career, Vander Hamm commanded at the squadron, group, wing, joint force component, task force levels and numbered air force levels. As the Commander, Eighth Air Force, he led the “Mighty Eighth” and the air component headquarters in planning and executing strategic deterrence and global strike operations for USSTRATCOM. He has extensive combat experience leading Airmen in Operations ODYSSEY DAWN (Libya), ENDRURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan), IRAQI FREEDOM (Iraq), and ALLIED FORCE (Serbia). A command pilot with more than 4,600 flying hours, he has operational experience in several aircraft including the B-2 Stealth Bomber, B-1, B-52, and the T-38.
Scott earned degrees from Grand Canyon University in 1985 (B.A.), Northern Michigan University (M.A.), and Marine Corps University (M.S.). He attended Marine Command & Staff College, Quantico, VA in addition to a year as a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow with 3M Company, Saint Paul, MN.
Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.
Rick Fisher
IASC
Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute and is a columnist for the Taipei Times. He has previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) Since 1996 he has covered scores of international arms exhibits and his articles have been published in the Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, Defense News, The Epoch Times and the The Washington Times. He has studied at Georgetown University and received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.
Richard Weitz
Hudson Institute
Richard Weitz is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute. His current research focused on relations among Russia, China, and the United States, encompassing regional (especially Europe, Asia, the Arctic, and the Middle East) and functional (particularly space, cyber, and security) issues, along with scenarios for future great-power relations. Dr. Weitz is a graduate of Harvard University (Ph.D. in Political Science), Oxford University (M.Phil. in Politics), the London School of Economics (M.Sc. in International Relations), and Harvard College (B.A. with Highest Honors in Government), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before joining Hudson in 2005, Dr. Weitz worked for several other academic and professional research institutions and the U.S. Department of Defense, where he received an Award for Excellence from Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has authored or edited several books, monographs, and reports, including “Strengthening International Cooperation in Managing China-Related Proliferation Challenges” (2023); The New China-Russia Alignment: Critical Challenges to U.S. Security (2022); and “Countering Emerging Russian and Chinese Hypersonic Threats” (2021).
Major General Michael J. Lutton
Commander, Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
Maj. Gen. Michael Lutton is Commander, Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. Maj. Gen. Lutton is responsible for more than 12,000 Airmen providing nuclear global strike and nuclear weapons sustainment for the U.S. Air Force.
Maj. Gen. Lutton is a career space and missile officer. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. He also served as weapons officer instructor, weapons squadron operations officer and weapons squadron commander. Maj. Gen. Lutton commanded the Air Force's only group providing initial training for the nation's space and intercontinental ballistic missile operations and air launched cruise missile maintenance forces. Maj. Gen. Lutton also served as a weapons officer in the 32nd Air Operations Group and served in Operation Allied Force.
Prior to his current assignment, Maj. Gen. Lutton served as the Deputy Director for Nuclear and Homeland Defense Operations, the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.
Colonel Bridget McNamara
Vice Commander, Eighth Air Force, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
Colonel Bridget McNamara is the Vice Commander, Eighth Air Force, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. As a Numbered Air Force of Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force provides long-range strike and strategic deterrence to combatant commanders worldwide. “The Mighty Eighth” oversees five bomb wings and a command and control operations group, comprised of the Air Force’s B-1, B-2 and B-52 bomber forces and E-4B aircraft.
Colonel McNamara is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, and the USAF Weapons School. Her career includes operational flying assignments in the B-1B Lancer, several combat deployments in support of overseas contingency operations, and two tours as a legislative liaison. She has held leadership positions at the squadron, group, wing, numbered Air Force, major command, Headquarters US Air Force, and combatant command levels. Prior to this role, she served as the Director, Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe
Director, SSP
Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe is a native of Somerset, Texas. He graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Systems Engineering. He earned a Master of Science in Applied Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, where he was also selected for transfer to the engineering duty officer community.
At sea and on deployment, he served as the assistant weapons officer on USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN 644) from 1988 to 1992, and was part of a forward-based team that led the rebuilding of courthouses and prisons in Iraq in 2007. In 1994 he was assigned as the lead systems engineer on a Ballistic Missile Defense Office (BMDO) joint skunkworks project ran by the U.S. Air Force at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
From 1995 to 1996, he was assigned to Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) as the liaison to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Command Control Communications Computers & Intelligence (C4I). From 1996 to 2000, he served as the assistant section head for fire control and guidance at SSP. In July 2000, Wolfe was assigned to the Program Management Office, Strategic Systems Programs (PMOSSP), Sunnyvale, California, where he served as the technical division head. During this tour, he was assigned additional temporary duties as a technical investigator for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board where he served as a lead for foam loss testing and orbit impact analysis. From 2003 to 2014, Wolfe was assigned back to SSP Headquarters. While at SSP he served in many positions, including the deputy chief engineer, branch head for Fire Control and Guidance Branch, the nuclear weapons security coordinator and SSGN coordinator, and branch head for Missile Branch.
In 2012, Wolfe assumed duties as the technical director and deputy director reporting program manager for Strategic Systems Programs. Wolfe was promoted to Rear Admiral October 1, 2014, and assigned as the program executive for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, Missile Defense Agency.
Wolfe was promoted to Vice Admiral on May 4, 2018 and assumed the duties as director, Strategic Systems Programs.
Wolfe's awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with gold star, Navy Achievement Medal with three gold stars, Air Force Achievement Medal and various other service awards.
Maj Gen Kenneth Eaves
Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Eaves, is the Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, La. He is the principal advisor to the Commander on Air National Guard matters relating to the organization, training, equipping, and maintaining of combat-ready forces that provide strategic deterrence, global strike, cyber operations and combat support to USSSTRATCOM and other geographic combatant commands. General Eaves also serves as the Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Commander, United States Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. He is the principal advisor to the Deputy Commander on Reserve Component matters related to the Command’s diverse missions, including strategic deterrence; cyberspace operations; integrated missile defense; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and global strike.
After receiving his commission from the Academy of Military Science in 1990, General Eaves began his military career as an F-15 pilot in the Georgia ANG’s 116th Tactical Fighter Wing. He subsequently transferred to the Missouri ANG’s 131st Fighter Wing in 1995 where he flew the F-15 and B-2. Currently he serves as an Airborne Emergency Action Officer aboard Airborne National Command Post E-6Bs as well as functioning as an AEAO instructor and evaluator. As a command pilot, he has flown nearly 3,500 flying hours, including combat time during Operation NORTHERN WATCH and Operation PROVIDE COMFORT.
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