Vice Admiral Daniel T. Oliver, USN (Retired) President, Naval Postgraduate School
VADM (Ret) Oliver was commissioned through the Navy ROTC program at the University of Virginia in 1966 and spent his operational career as a Navy P-3 pilot. He culminated his 34 years on active duty as the Chief of Naval Personnel. After leaving active duty in February 2000, he became engaged in the private sector as a senior executive and board member of a number of companies and civic organizations. In April 2007, he was appointed as President of NPS by the Secretary of the Navy.
Lieutenant Colonel Jay Warwick, USAF (Retired)
Deputy Director for Education and Training, USAF Culture and Language Center. He is responsible for daily operations of an Air Force level center, including programming, documenting, and executing a 7.5 million dollar budget. Lt Col (Ret) Warwick developed and implemented the Air University’s language program and a comprehensive language plan for Air Force general-purpose forces.
Rear Admiral Jeffrey L. Lemmons, USN
RADM Lemmons leads the newly formed Navy Directorate for International Engagement (OPNAV N52). His staff assignments have been Director for Fleet Readiness (OPNAV N43); Associate Director, Assessments Division (OPNAV N81D); Reserve assistant deputy Chief of Naval Operations for the Integration of Resources and Capabilities (OPNAV N8R); and assistant deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operation, Plans and Strategy (OPNAV N3/N5B).
Dr. Leonard A. Ferrari
Dr. Ferrari is the Provost of the Naval Postgraduate School. He spearheaded a new Strategic Plan initiative, proposed new collaborative efforts with regional research and education institutions and launched new efforts to make campus academic and business processes more effective. Dr. Ferrari has published approximately 100 research articles in electrical engineering and has spent thirty years in academic faculty positions.
Dr. Tristan James Mabry
Dr. Mabry is the Executive Director of the Joint Foreign Area Officer Skills Sustainment Pilot Program and an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs. Dr. Mabry is a specialist in the comparative politics of nationalism, ethnic conflict, and identity politics across Eurasia. His research addresses the intersection of ethnicity and Islam separatist movements.
Ambassador David L. Lyon
Ambassador Lyon retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in September 2005 following a 33-year career with the Department of State. His final posting was to Suva, Fiji, where he served as Ambassador to the Pacific Island countries of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga &Tuvalu. Since his retirement, Ambassador Lyon has been a consultant focusing primarily on Political-Military and Stabilization & Reconstruction issues.
Lieutenant Colonel Shirley Rapues, USA Defense Language Office
The Associate Director for the U.S. Department of Defense FAO Program for the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel anShe provides oversight and support to service FAO programs and advises the Under Secretary on the Joint FAO Program. LTC Rapues was the Bilateral Exchange Program Manager for U.S. Army – Japan, and provided intelligence support in Northeast Asia.
Mr. Coyt D. Hargus Editor, FAO Journal
Mr. Hargus is ACC’s Deputy Director of International Affairs (POLAD) and a Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of Air Combat Command (COMACC). He assists the POLAD in his capacity as the command focal point and advisor to COMACC, subordinate commanders, and ACC senior staff on political-military affairs, policy analysis and global US strategic interests.
Colonel Mark Chakwin, USA
COL Chakwin is the U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer Chair and Senior Army Representative at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California. He was posted to this position after completing an assignment as the Defense and Army Attaché and Security Cooperation Officer at U.S. Defense Attaché Office, American Embassy Hanoi. He is a U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer, who has lived and studied in China and traveled throughout Asia.
Mr. Richard A. Genaille Jr., Senior Executive Service
Mr. Genaille, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Director of Policy, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, Washington, D.C. Mr. Genaille develops and implements national, Department of Defense and Air Force policies governing security assistance, international armaments cooperative development, foreign disclosure and technology transfer, as well as military and civilian personnel exchange programs supporting national security objectives.
Captain Hong C. ‘Jim’ Kim, USN
CAPT Kim is serving in the office of CNO’s International Engagement Directorate, OPNAV N52, as the Integration Branch Head and Navy FAO Policy Advisor. He served as the Naval Attaché-Seoul, Korea where he played a key role in enhancing naval relationship between the U.S. Navy and the Republic of Korean Navy. CAPT Kim was re-designated as a Foreign Area Officer in 2007.
Lieutenant Colonel David E. Brigham, USA
LTC Brigham is the Chief of Operational Support Division Foreign Area Officer Branch. He is responsible for the accession, functional area training, worldwide assignment, and career management of 1,150 officers from Captain to Lieutenant Colonel. LTC Brigham professionally develops the FAO population from accession to separation to achieve Department of the Army goals for assignment and promotion.
Major Seth W.B. Folsom, USMC
Maj Folsom currently serves as the International Affairs Officer Program Coordinator at Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps. His previous assignments include Military Transition Team Leader in Al Qa’im, Iraq and Commanding Officer, Company “D”, 1st LAR Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He is an infantry officer and South Asia FAO, and he is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Naval Postgraduate School.
Colonel Michael Mensch, USA (Retired)
COL (Ret) Mensch is the Africa Progam Manager for the Center for Civil-Military Relations, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He lived and worked in Africa and the Middle East for fifteen years as a Foreign Area Officer for Africa and the Arab World. He retired from the Army in May, 1999.
Ambassador David L. Lyon
Ambassador Lyon retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in September 2005 following a 33-year career with the Department of State. His final posting was to Suva, Fiji, where he served as Ambassador to the Pacific Island countries of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga &Tuvalu. Since his retirement, Ambassador Lyon has been a consultant focusing primarily on Political-Military and Stabilization & Reconstruction issues.
Dr. Elena Brineman, USAID
Dr. Brineman is a Senior Foreign Service Officer with rank of Career Minister and currently serves as Director of USAID Office of Military Affairs. Dr. Brineman’s previously billets include: Senior Development Advisor to the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, the USAID faculty member at the US Army War College, USAID Mission Director in the Dominican Republic, Deputy Mission Director and as USAID Mission Director in Honduras, and spent most of the 1980s covering Central America from USAID’s Regional Office for Central America and Panama in Guatemala.
Colonel Philippe Rogers, USMC
Col Rogers is Commanding Officer for Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA. He previously served as the first ever Command Inspector General for Marine Corps Special Operations Command, and served at U.S. European Command Plans and Policy Directorate, European Division, as the Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus Desk Officer and as the French, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg & Africa Clearing House Desk Officer. Col Rogers served as a UN Military Observer and Team Site Commander in MINURSO for the UN mission to the Western Sahara and is a graduate of the French War College in Paris, France.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon Duke, USMC
LtCol Duke is serving as the Operations Officer for the Marine Special Operations Regiment,Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command. Previously, he was assigned to Defense Intelligence Agency as the Marine Corps Attaché to Israel, and later was assigned to serve as the special assistant to the U.S. Road Monitoring Mission following the Annapolis Peace Talks.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Vestal, USA
LTC Vestal is the Foreign Area Officer Director at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center on the Presidio of Monterey. LTC Vestal previously served as the Assistant Army Attaché in Kiev Ukraine, the Russian Branch Chief at the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville Virginia, and also as the Defense and Army Attaché in Slovenia.
Captain Todd Squire, USN
CAPT Squire served as the Deputy Director for NATO Operations leading a team of five action officers that advised the Secretary of Defense on policy matters significant for NATO Operations, and Country Director in European and NATO Policy, for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a student at the Defense Language Institute in preparation for his assignment as the Security Cooperation Programs Division Chief in the Office of Defense Cooperation in Ankara, Turkey.
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Herndon, USA
LTC Herndon currently serves as the Chief, Pan-Africa Programs Branch at US Africa Command, in the Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate. LTC Herndon is a Middle-East FAO and has previously served as a UN Military Observer in Iraq and Kuwait, A Security Cooperation Officer in Jordan, Senior Intelligence Analyst in Turkey, Senior Political Advisor in Iraq, and as Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation in Tunisia.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Mollohan, USMC
LtCol Mollohan is currently assigned to the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies as a Military Professor and as the Comprehensive Security Responses to Terrorism course coordinator. LtCol Mollohan’s previous FAO experience includes serving as the Marine Operations Officer, Joint US Military Advisory Group, Bangkok Thailand, and also as the Operations Officer for UNOMIG in the Republic of Georgia.
Lieutenant Colonel Glen Roberts, USAF
Lt Col Roberts is the Senior Strategic Communication Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. He also serves as the Principal Liaison Officer between the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and six Geographic Combatant Commands. Additionally, he is responsible for advising the Under Secretary in understanding, informing, engaging, and influencing key foreign audiences. Finally, he manages, develops and directs programs that assist in connecting social movements and grass-roots networks that provide a full range of constructive alternatives to engaging in violent extremism.
Lieutenant Colonel Steve Bergey, USA
Lt Col Bergey currently serves as the Air Attaché, U.S. Embassy, Doha, Qatar. Previous IAS experience includes: Central Asia and Levant Country Director, USCENTCOM; Security Assistance Officer, U.S. Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan; Combat Aviation Advisor, 6th Special Operations Squadron. He is a logistics officer and Middle East Regional Affairs Strategist holding masters degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts and the Naval Postgraduate School.
Dr. Harold Trinkunas
Dr. Trinkunas is Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School. His research and writing focus on Latin American politics, particularly democratization. Dr. Trinkunas also served as the field officer for the Carter Center electoral observation mission in Venezuela during the highly contested 1998 congressional and presidential elections. He continues to participate in electoral observation missions with the Carter Center.
Dr. Anna Simons
Dr. Simons is a Professor in the Defense Analysis Department at Naval Postgraduate School whose research interests focus on Ethnic Conflict, Military Anthropology, and Strategic Culture. She is a council member of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society, and on the editorial boards of Armed Forces & Society and Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.
Dr. Tom Johnson
Dr. Johnson is the Director of the Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. Under his direction, the program coordinates anthropological research activities on the human terrain of Central and South Asia. He also serves as a Senior Research Associate for Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Contemporary Conflict, and as a member of the U.S. delegation to the NATO WMD Warning and Reporting Panel.
Dr. Brian R. Selmeski
Dr. Selmeski is the Director for Plans & Policies at the US Air Force Culture & Language Center and an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. In his current position, he is responsible for culture, region and language learning across the US Air Force through strategic planning and policy development.
Lieutenant Colonel Jay Warwick, USAF (Retired)
Lt Col (Ret) Warwick is the Deputy Director for Education and Training, USAF Culture and Language Center. He is responsible for daily operations of an Air Force level center, including programming, documenting, and executing a 7.5 million dollar budget. Lt Col (Ret) Warwick developed and implemented the Air University’s language program and a comprehensive language plan for Air Force general-purpose forces.
Dr. Kimberly Hudson
Dr. Hudson is Deputy Director of the AF Negotiation Center of Excellence (NCE) and Assistant Professor of Political Science, US Air War College. She teaches electives in the subfields of Negotiation and Just War Theory. Her current research interests include techniques for negotiation and conflict resolution in culturally complex military environments, and just war theory as it relates to contemporary conflict. She chairs the AF NCE research and publication initiative on “Negotiating in the Military Context: A Field Guide.”
Dr. Robert R. Sands
Dr. Sands is Culture Chair and Assistant Professor of Anthropology for the Air Force Cultureand Language Center (AFCLC) and Air University at Maxwell AFB, AL. Dr. Sands designs curricula infusing culture concepts into professional military education and training. He is the course developer and professor of the Introduction to Culture course, and developed and initiated the Cultural Studies Project.
Dr. Christopher P. Twomey
Dr. Christopher P. Twomey is an Assistant Professor in the National Security Affairs Department at Naval Postgraduate School. His research interests center on security studies, Chinese foreign policy, modern nuclear affairs, strategic culture, statecraft, and East Asian security in theory and practice. Dr. Twomey manages a track II diplomatic exchange on Sino-American nuclear issues involving several PLA flag officers, academics, and civilian policy makers. This project is in its sixth year.
Colonel Robin H. ‘Sak’ Sakoda, USA (Retired)
COL (Ret) Sakoda is a Visiting Lecturer at Naval Postgraduate School. He was a member of the panel headed by Richard Armitage that produced two reports: U.S.-Japan Alliance: “Advancing Toward a Mature Partnership”, and “US-Japan Alliance: Getting Asia Right through 2020.” During the last five years of his U.S. Army career, Sak served as Country Director for Japan, Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Colonel Mark Chakwin, USA
COL Chakwin is the U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer Chair and Senior Army Representative at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California. He was posted to this position after completing an assignment as the Defense and Army Attaché and Security Cooperation Officer at U.S. Defense Attaché Office, American Embassy Hanoi. He is a U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer, who has lived and studied in China and traveled throughout Asia.
Dr. Tristan James Mabry
Dr. Mabry is the Executive Director of the Joint Foreign Area Officer Skills Sustainment Pilot Program and an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs. Dr. Mabry is a specialist in the comparative politics of nationalism, ethnic conflict, and identity politics across Eurasia. His research addresses the intersection of ethnicity and Islam separatist movements.
