I have recently finished a career in the U.S. Army, where I served in a broad range of command and staff positions in the fields of operations, strategic policy, human intelligence, diplomacy, and arms control.
In my last two assignments, I served as Chief of Russian Deconfliction for U.S. military operations in Syria, creating the strategy for all engagement with Russian forces and managing strategic communications regarding Russia; and as a Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for...
I have recently finished a career in the U.S. Army, where I served in a broad range of command and staff positions in the fields of operations, strategic policy, human intelligence, diplomacy, and arms control.
In my last two assignments, I served as Chief of Russian Deconfliction for U.S. military operations in Syria, creating the strategy for all engagement with Russian forces and managing strategic communications regarding Russia; and as a Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for the Baltic region, designing and executing a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the threat of Russian aggression in Europe after the invasion of Ukraine.
I began my Army career as an infantryman and Ranger before transitioning to service as a political/military expert on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, developing and implementing U.S defense policy, executing sensitive intelligence operations, leading contentious arms control operations, and conducting diplomatic engagements and international negotiations in both cooperative and adversarial environments. My other key senior positions include, Chief of Nuclear Arms Control at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché in Lithuania, and I completed operational deployments to the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In addition to graduating from West Point, I earned master’s degrees from Harvard University and the U.S. Army War College. Through years of travel and high-level international service, I have developed proficiency in the Russian, German, French, and Lithuanian languages.
I first learned Russian at the Defense Language Institute, and then used the language professionally for 20 years. I have traveled extensively throughout Russia and the Former Soviet Union and engaged people in all walks of life. I have particularly deep experience with political/military issues.
