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Senior Leadership Team

Col Matthew O. Berry

Col Matthew O. Berry
Commandant 

Col Steven Niewiarowski

Col Steven Niewiarowski  
Vice Commandant

Col Sarah Bakhtiari

Col Sarah Bakhtiari
Dean of Education

Dr. Ronald N. Dains

Dr. Ronald N. Dains
Dean of Students

Student Leadership Team

Lt Col kristen boneberg

Lt Col Kristen Boneberg
21st Commander 

Lt Col Tanya Iwanenko

Lt Col Tanya Iwanenko 
38th Commander

Departments

Dean of Education

The Dean of Education at the ACSC Resident Program (ACSC-R) is assisted by the Associate Dean of Education (Policy-Strategy) and the Associate Dean of Education (Operations). Together, they help run the day-to-day educational operations of ACSR-R, as well as planning for curriculum integration, accreditation, faculty management and development, and coordination with Air University and other external DoD and civilian agencies.

 
Col Sarah Bakhtiari is the ACSC Resident Dean of Education (DE).  As the ACSC-R Program Manager, Col Bakhtiari is the is the principal advisor to the ACSC Commandant on all aspects of JPME. She provides leadership and strategic guidance to the ACSC-R faculty and ensures accomplishment of the JPME mission. This mission includes execution of all joint professional military education (JPME-I) curriculum requirements to include development of course materials, academic presentations, and standards for implementation, operation, and administration of ACSC-R. Further, Col Bakhtiari ensures ACSC-R complies with external inputs from the SECAF, the CSAF, the Air Staff, Air Force Major Commands, CJCS.
Lt Col Andrew J. Swartzer is the Associate Dean of Education (Operations) and an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies for the Air Command and Staff College. He graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Auburn University, an M.S.A. in Information Resources Management from Central Michigan University, and an M.S. in Adult Education from Troy University. Lt Col Swartzer received his PhD in History of Technology from Auburn University in 2020, where he graduated with distinction. His doctoral dissertation won Auburn University's 2021-2022 Distinguished Dissertation Award. Additionally, his dissertation was nominated for the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, the most prestigious dissertation award in the nation. A career Space and Missile officer, Lt Col Swartzer has held operational assignments in the Minuteman III ICBM and the Global Positioning System (GPS), and he has served in multiple joint, training, and education assignments.
Research Interests/Expertise: Airpower, Mental Models and Institutional Change, Ideology of 20th Century Airpower, Space.
Dr. Jordan R. Hayworth is the Associate Dean for Policy and Strategy at the Air Command and Staff College. He previously served as an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Leader and Research Development, where he was the Deputy Department Chair and Director of Electives. Hayworth received his B.A. in History from High Point University in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in European History from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, where he studied under Dr. Michael V. Leggiere as a Student Fellow of the Military History Center. His doctoral dissertation won the 2016 Edward M. Coffman First Manuscript Prize through the Society for Military History and the 2017 Council of Graduate Schools and ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award at the University of North Texas. His first book, Revolutionary France’s War of Conquest in the Rhineland: Conquering the Natural Frontier, 1792-1797 was published by Cambridge University Press in spring 2019. Currently, he is writing a new history of the 1794 Campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Research Interest/Expertise:  Early Modern and Modern Military History, French History, Modern European History, Political and Diplomatic History.

Department of Airpower

The Department of Airpower is made up of both experienced civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation’s allies and academic specialties. The department develops and delivers two of ACSC’s core courses, Airpower Strategy and Operations and Contemporary and Emerging Warfare, in support of the USAF’s new mission: To fly, fight, and win… Airpower anytime, anywhere. The first course, Airpower Strategy and Operations, examines the emergence and development of airpower from World War I through the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to better understand airpower employment today. The Contemporary and Emerging Warfare course examines capabilities, limitations, threats, and technology in modern conflicts, incorporating joint doctrine and studying great power and peer adversaries. The courses work together to merge lessons learned from historical and contemporary conflicts with emerging technologies and threats to prepare for future conflict. Airpower…Get Some!

 

Dr. Edwin H. Redman, Colonel, USAF (Retired), is Chair of the Department of Airpower and an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Dr. Redman is a command pilot with tours in each of the Air Force’s bomber aircraft. He served as an instructor pilot in the T-38, B-1 and B-2, and flew combat missions in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in 2003 in the B-2. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, ACSC, and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS). Following SAASS, Dr. Redman attended Duke University, where he received his PhD in History. His last operational assignment was Deputy Commander, 509th Operations Group, Whiteman Air Force Base. He completed his active-duty service at Air University, holding several positions, including Director of Warfighting Education at the LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education, and Director of the Grand Strategy Seminar, Air War College. He retired from the Air Force in 2014 and joined Air University as a civilian professor in 2015.

Research Interest/Expertise: Cold War History, Nuclear Deterrence, Civil-Military Relations, and US National Security

Dr. Jared R. Donnelly is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies and the Course Director of the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare course at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. Dr. Donnelly received his PhD from Texas A&M University and was previously on the faculty of the International Affairs Department at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. Donnelly's research focuses on war and social change in Germany and Europe with a specific interest in the period since 1945. Additionally, he studies strategic design for future security environments and conducts research on decision making in multi-domain operations.

Research Interest/Expertise: Modern Europe, Modern Germany, European War and Society, Nazi Germany, Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Joint Planning.

Dr. Heather P. Venable is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower and the Airpower Strategy and Operations Course Director. She has taught Airpower I, Airpower II, and electives on close air support and the historical experience of combat. She also has served as the Airpower II course director. As a visiting professor at the US Naval Academy, she taught naval and Marine Corps history. She graduated with a BA in History from Texas A&M University and an MA in American History from the University of Hawai’i. She received her PhD in military history from Duke University. She also has attended the Space Operations Course as well as the Joint Firepower Course. She has written How the Few Became the Proud: The Making of the Marine Corps’ Mythos, 1874-1918 (Naval Institute Press, 2019). Previous published work includes “‘There’s Nothing that a Marine Can’t Do’: Publicity and the Marine Corps, 1905-1917” in New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Sixteenth Naval History Symposium and “The China Marines and the Crucible of the Warrior Mythos, 1900-1941” in Crucibles: Selected Readings in U.S. Marine Corps History. She is also a non-resident fellow at Marine Corps University’s Krulak Center. Her professional service includes service as a managing editor for The Strategy Bridge. Her current research centers on intersections between theory and pre-war thinking and the application of airpower in combat.
Lt Col Kelsi Baker is an instructor and Director of Staff in the Department of Airpower at the Air Command and Staff College. Prior to instructing, she served as the Executive Officer for the LeMay Center Commander and Air University Vice Commander. As a prior missile officer, she completed 4 years at F.E. Warren with the 319th MS and 90th OSS. As an intelligence officer, she has completed assignments at NSA-Texas, 25th AF, AFGSC, and the ISRD at Camp Arifjan. She received her commission from OTS in 2008. Lt Col Baker graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cellular/Molecular Biology in 2007 and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree in 2020.
Dr. Terry Beckenbaugh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Air Power at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He came to ACSC from the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he taught for nine years in the Department of Military History. Dr. Beckenbaugh received his PhD in 19th Century US History from the University of Arkansas, and his Masters and Bachelors in US History and History, respectively, from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. Beckenbaugh has taught at a variety of undergraduate and graduate civilian institutions. He is currently working on a book on the White River Campaign in Arkansas in the spring-summer of 1862, and has numerous publications and conference presentations.
Lt Col John “Garick” Chamberlin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He holds a PhD in History from Purdue University, an MA in National Security Affairs from Naval Postgraduate School, and a BS in Middle East Studies from Excelsior College (USNY). Lt Col Chamberlin has split his Air Force career roughly equally between intelligence and education assignments, having taught at the Defense Language Institute and the US Air Force Academy, and commanded a Student Squadron at Squadron Officers School prior to his assignment to ACSC. In the Intelligence field, he was attached to the RC-135 both as an enlisted aviator and as an intelligence officer, and also served on the 3rd Air Force and US Air Forces in Europe staffs and as the Chief of Wing Intelligence for the 22 ARW at McConnell AFB. Lt Col Chamberlin has over a dozen deployments to the Middle East, as well as one to Kosovo. His research focuses on the diplomatic and military history of the Early American Republic, primarily related to North African affairs.
Lt Col Paulo Costa is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He teaches the Airpower Strategy and Operations and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare courses. Prior to instructing at ACSC, he was a member of ACSC’s AY21 class. Lt Col Paulo Costa is a senior cargo pilot from Brazilian Air Force with more than 3,200 flying hours in several EMBRAER aircraft, from the turbo-prop Tucano to regional jets. Before coming to the United States, he was the Commander of the Special Transport Group’s 1st Squadron, the airlift unit responsible for transporting the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Lt Col Costa attended the Brazilian Air Force Academy, receiving his bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Science and Public Administration. He also holds a Lato Sensu specialization in Institutional Marketing, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science.
Lt Col Hugh Gardenier is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 2002. After commissioning, he worked as a Developmental Engineer on various USAF aircraft, satellite, and cyber acquisition programs. In 2015, Lt Col Gardenier attended ACSC and after graduation served as an instructor in the Department of Airpower and member of the ACSC staff. He was selected for the Advanced Academic Degree program in 2018 and started at Ohio State University for a Military History PhD the following year. Currently, he is working on his dissertation, which examines the impact of USAF General (Retired) Nathan F. Twining on the USAF and U.S. national security strategy during the Eisenhower administration.

Research Interests: Military effectiveness, civilian-military relations, the strategy-making process, and American military history

Lt Col Jeremiah Gilmore is an instructor in the Department of Airpower and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare Deputy Course Director at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Prior to this assignment, Lt Col Gilmore was a Staff Officer at Air Combat Command (ACC) where he worked acquisition and capability development for several emerging Air force Programs. He holds a Master’s in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University as well as a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Georgia and received his commission from ROTC. He has previously served at Offutt AFB where he deployed with the RC-135 to the CENTCOM and INDOPACOM AORs. He has also completed an instructor assignment at the Combat Systems Officer Formal Training Unit in Pensacola Florida. He is a Senior Combat Systems Officer with over 2000 hours in the RC-135 and T-1A aircraft.
Lt Col Robert Lacy is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Lt Col Lacy is a Senior CSO having flown the EC-130H, MC-130H, and MC-130J. He holds a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University as well as a Master of Natural Resource Development from Texas A&M University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2006 and commissioned through ROTC. Prior to this assignment he was assigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing, AETC’s schoolhouse for Special Operations and Personnel Recovery aviation.
Dr. Joshua A. Sipper is an Assistant Professor at the Air Command and Staff College. He completed his Doctoral work at Trident University in September of 2012, earning a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (emphasis, E-Learning Leadership). Dr. Sipper’s previous degrees were obtained from Troy University (M.Ed. Education) and Faulkner University (B.S. English). Dr. Sipper is a veteran who served honorably in the U.S. Air Force in the intelligence career field and worked for Lockheed Martin in a similar capacity on the U-2 program. More recently, Dr. Sipper shifted his focus into the cyber realm for seven years as a Systems Engineer, Chief of Cyber Standardization and Evaluation, and Cyber Exercise Manager for General Dynamics at the Air Force’s 26th Network Operations Squadron, followed by a nine-year stint as a civil servant in the Air Force cyber career field at the Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education. Just prior to his appointment at ACSC, Dr. Sipper was a Professor of Cyberwarfare Studies at the Air Force Cyber College where he designed several cyber courses including Cyber ISR, Cyber EW, and Cyber and Information Warfare Capabilities and Trends. He has numerous publications including his paper titled “The Cyber Microbiome and the Cyber Meta-reality” published at the IARIA Cyber 2020 conference for which he won a “Best Paper Award” and also has a book titled “The Cyber Meta-reality: Beyond the Metaverse, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2022. Dr. Sipper’s research interests include cyber operations, ISR, electromagnetic warfare, and cyber warfare.
Dr. Paul J. Springer is a full professor of comparative military studies. He holds a PhD in military history from Texas A&M University. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including America’s Captives: Treatment of POWs from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror; Military Robots and Drones: A Reference Handbook; Transforming Civil War Prisons: Lincoln, Lieber, and the Laws of War; Cyber Warfare: A Reference Handbook; and Outsourcing War to Machines: The Military Robotics Revolution. In addition, he has published hundreds of shorter pieces, on a variety of subjects including military history, terrorism, strategy, technology, and military robotics. In 2019, he was asked by CSAF General David Goldfein to co-author a book on leadership and command, which will be published by the Air University Press. Dr. Springer is a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the series editor for both the History of Military Aviation and Transforming War series, produced by the U.S. Naval Institute Press. Currently, he is completing three books, including a collective biography of the West Point Class of 1829; a military history textbook (co-authored with ACSC Professor S. Michael Pavelec); and an examination of the post-Civil War creation of higher education institutions in the South. Research Interest/Expertise includes: POW operations; military leadership and command; strategy; military technology; artificial intelligence; cyber warfare; and U.S. military history.
Dr. John Terino is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies at the Air Command and Staff College. At ACSC, he teaches courses on Military Theory, Airpower, Contemporary Warfare, Joint Planning, Joint Air Planning, and an elective on the Air Force in Fact, Fiction, and Film. Prior to teaching at ACSC, he was a professor at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS). While at SAASS, he directed the school’s course on Technology and Military Innovation, courses on Airpower History, and the institution’s wargaming activities. Before coming to Air University, he taught for four years at the Air Force Academy in the Department of History. He retired from the Air Force in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel after serving for almost 23 years. He received his BA, MA, and PhD in the History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently researching a couple of book chapters and editing an airpower anthology book.
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Walters is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower and the Airpower Strategy and Operations Deputy Course Director. Dr. Walters received both her MA and PhD in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She teaches Airpower I, Airpower II, War Theory, and electives on War and Genocide in the Balkans and Combat Motivation. She is currently working on an oral history project exploring Operation Allies Welcome, the military support effort by the United States military for the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans spanning 2021-2022. Her second book project, Hospitality is the Law of the Mountains: The 1999 Kosovo War, argues that Albanians – motivated by the Albanian concept of hospitality – took strangers into their homes and communities and changed the course of the refugee crisis. Their actions bought time for the U.S. military to mobilize, rebuild Albania’s shattered infrastructure, and bring in massive amounts of aid. Previous published work includes “‘Tree Hugging Work’: The Shifting Attitudes and Practices of the U.S. Marine Corps Toward Peace Operations in the 1990s” in Marine Corps History and “A Tantalizing Success: The 1999 Kosovo War” in The Strategy Bridge. Before joining ACSC, Walters was an assistant professor in the History Department at Kansas State University.
Dr. Michael E. Weaver is an associate professor of history in the Department of Air Power. He joined the faculty of ACSC in 2002 after completing his doctorate at Temple University under the tutelage of Russell Weigley. Weaver’s first book was Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II (Indiana University Press, 2010). His second, The Air War in Vietnam (Texas Tech University Press, 2022), came out in print in the Fall of 2022. In The Journal of Aeronautical History, Intelligence and National Security, Air Power History, and Diplomatic History he has published articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis, air intelligence during World War II, aircraft capabilities, and air combat training during the Cold War. Weaver specializes in aviation history, the Cold War, and World War II.  

Research Interest/Expertise: Cold War, History of the Vietnam War, U.S. Military History, Aviation History, World War II, Force & Diplomacy, History of the United States.

Maj Justin Wohlford is an instructor in the Department of Air Power at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He teaches the Air Power Strategy and Operations and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare courses and the Science Fiction and Strategy elective. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Deputy Chief of Flight Safety, Air Combat Command (ACC) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA. Maj Wohlford is a Senior Pilot with over 2,000 flight hours in the E-8C JSTARS, including over 850 combat hours flown in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, and Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL. Maj Wohlford received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy, He also holds a Master of Arts in Military History from Norwich University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree from ACSC.


Department of Joint Warfighting

The Department of Joint Warfighting is made up of civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation's allies.  Faculty within the department are responsible for teaching, research, and service.  The Warfighting department is responsible for two core courses, Joint Air Operations Planning and Joint Warfighting. Joint Warfighting is designed to demonstrate, at the operational level, how the U.S. joint force organizes, deploys, employs, sustains, and redeploys military capabilities in support of national interest in order to prevail in war.

Dr. James D. Campbell is the Chair of the Joint Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College. A retired US Army brigadier general, Dr. Campbell served as an Infantryman and Strategic Plans and Policy Officer for 30 years, with assignments at all levels of command and staff, in both the Regular Army and the National Guard. Most recently he served as the Deputy Chief, Operations Plans Division at US Central Command, and prior to his retirement served as the 39th Adjutant General of Maine with the state cabinet-level position of Commissioner of the Maine Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. Dr. Campbell holds a M.A. in European History and a PhD in British History from the University of Maine. He is a graduate of the CAPSTONE course at the National Defense University, the US Army War College, and was an International Security Studies Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. Campbell has published works on subjects ranging from Homeland Defense, to Irregular Warfare, and 19th and early 20th century British Military History. His current research interests focus on British Imperial military operations and the Army in India.
Lt Col DJ Benzing is an Air University Instructor and Deputy Department Chair in the Joint Warfighting Department.  Lt Col Benzing is a Command Pilot with more than 3500 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating, instructing, and commanding missions in the C-17A in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, as well as Operations in and around the Horn of Africa to include numerous presidential support missions.Lt Col Benzing graduated with a BS in Biology from the Air Force Academy and holds Masters degrees from American Military University and Air University. Prior to this assignment he commanded the 31st Student Squadron, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL.
Dr. Brian R. Price is an Associate Professor in the Department of Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in political science, and holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas in military history. He has conducted research for the POW-MIA Accounting Agency, served as a Social Science SME serving special operations in Afghanistan, and has served a double tour as Senior Social Scientist in RC East, Afghanistan, 2011-12. He worked for ten years in Silicon Valley, rising to the level of Vice President, and ran his own publishing company before taking his doctorate. His research interests focus on the nexus between culture, technology and war, and his current research focuses on the development of post-Vietnam TACAIR, a project for which he has conducted extensive archival research along with oral histories on a number of senior officers. He is published in a number of journals, and has several books in his second field, medieval and early modern warfare. In his spare time he teaches historical swordsmanship and has been inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Mahoney is a Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He has a PhD in History from the George Washington University, a MS in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University (NDU), a MS in Management from Webster University, and a BS in Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to arriving at ACSC, Dr. Mahoney was the Dean of the Marine Corps War College and an Assistant Professor at the Eisenhower School at NDU. His book, The Mayaguez Incident, was published by Texas Tech Press. He is a retired USAF Colonel with over 27 years of service, commanded a KC-135 flying squadron, was on the AMC and CJCS staff, and was a command pilot with over 3500 hours in the T-37, T-38 and KC-135. His research interests include the US Constitution, Joint Warfighting, Joint Planning, Operational Design, Leadership, US Air Force History, Vietnam War era, WW II, Revolutionary War, and Civil War.
Lt Col Andrew Jasso is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. Lieutenant Colonel Jasso is a 1998 graduate of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he received a BS in Criminal Justice and a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College in 2009. He has commanded an Infantry Company and Headquarters company, commanded a Basic Training Battalion, and has held staff positions as Chief of Plans at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California and US Army Central Command (USARCENT) as a J35 planner for CJTF Operation Inherent Resolve. His most recent assignment was as the Chief of Movement and Maneuver for Operations Group Charlie at the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Dr. Bradley F. Podliska is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He has a Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations major) from Texas A&M University, a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. (with honors) in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Podliska is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School. Prior to arriving at ACSC, Dr. Podliska worked as an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense and as an investigator for the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi. His publications include a book, Acting Alone: A Scientific Study on American Hegemony and Unilateral Use-of-Force Decision Making (Lexington Books) as well as a book chapter and articles and on national security, military operations, and American institutions. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force Reserves, serving as an intelligence officer with US Joint Forces Command and US European Command.
Maj Kaylee Bazzell is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. As an AF Intelligence Officer, she has served in support of multiple AF platforms both operationally and for test. She is a qualified instructor and security specialist with experience in electronic warfare. She has served as a National Security Agency liaison and has deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as an Air Advisor. Maj Bazzell received a Bachelor of Science in Humanities from the United States Air Force Academy in 2008 and has a Masters in Strategic Communications from National University as well as a Masters from Air Command and Staff College. Her most recent assignment was as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the 53rd Wing, Eglin AFB, Fl.
Major Brian Carpenter is an Air University Instructor in the Joint Warfighting Department.  Major Carpenter is a Senior Navigator with more than 2000 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating and instructing in the MC-130J, MC-130H, and C-130H in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and numerous contingency deployments in the European and Pacific theaters. Major Carpenter graduated with a BA in History from the University of Oklahoma and holds a Masters degrees from American Military University and Air University. Prior to this assignment he was an Assistant Operations Officer, 67th Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, UK.
Maj Adam Pohl is an instructor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College.  Maj Pohl is a career intelligence officer with experience supporting mobility operations, intelligence exploitation and dissemination missions, and space operations.  He has deployed three times to the Middle East supporting the fielding of new intelligence aircraft, space effects integration, and as a combat air advisor to the Iraqi Air Force.  Maj Pohl has led intelligence missions at the squadron, numbered air force and combatant command levels.  He graduated with a BA in Political Science from the University of Iowa in 2008 and holds a MA from Air University.  Prior to this assignment, Maj Pohl was the executive officer to the Director of Intelligence, United States Space Command, Schriever AFB, CO.
Dr. Jon Hendrickson is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Joint Warfighting Department. After being awarded a Tyng Scholarship to Williams College, he earned his PhD in military history from The Ohio State University, where he was awarded a Mershon Center Fellowship to conduct research in Vienna, Rome, Paris, and London. This research led to the publication of Crisis in the Mediterranean, a book on the shifting alliances and naval races in the Mediterranean before World War I. After graduating from Ohio State, he was awarded the Class of 1957 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Naval History at the US Naval Academy, and taught at Coastal Carolina University. He has published and presented several papers on naval and military history, ancient history, and diplomatic history.
LTC Walter L. Ivory Jr. is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a 2005 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans where he received a BS in Business Administration. He also has an MBA from Trident University International. LTC Ivory completed US Army Command and General Staff College in 2016. An Army Logistics Officer, he has served in multiple command and staff assignments from the Tactical to Strategic echelons. He has deployed three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation New Dawn. In his most recent assignment was as the Executive Officer for the Headquarters Department of the Army, Deputy G-4 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Major Karan Bansal is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College.  Major Bansal is a Senior Pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating, instructing, and commanding missions in the MC-12, C-130H and the KC-135R in support of numerous military missions around the world. Major Bansal graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Academy and holds a master’s degree in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air University. His most recent assignment was as the Wing Weapons Officer at the 92d Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild AFB, WA.
Dr. Robert M. Kerr is an Associate Professor in the Joint Warfighting Department. He also previously served as Course Director for International Security 2: The Use of Armed Force. He holds a PhD in Political Geography from the University of Oregon, and an MA in Geosciences from the University of South Carolina. His BA is in History with an emphasis on the Islamic World from Grand Valley State University. In addition to teaching at ACSC, Dr. Kerr has worked at the Air Force Culture and Language Center, and taught courses at the US Air Force Special Operations School, the Senior NCO Academy, and the Air Advisor Academy. In 2008-2009 he spent 15 months in NE Baghdad with the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division as an embedded political/cultural advisor.
Lt Col Bradley J. Pogue is an Instructor and Academic Advisor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. Within ACSC he previously served as Associate Dean of Education Operations and as the Department of Joint Warfighting’s Director of Staff. Lt Col Pogue is a USAF Force Support Officer with Space Operations experience. His space operations experience is in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and satellite command and control. He was commissioned in 2004 after receiving his B.A. in History from Berry College, and he subsequently earned a M.A. in Government/International Politics from Regent University in 2009. Lt Col Pogue is an ACSC in-residence graduate, where he earned a Master of Military Operational Art and Science in 2016.  Prior to his arrival at ACSC, he was the Director of Operations for the National Reconnaissance Office Space Operations Squadron located in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Lt Col Tyronda “Ty” Kelly is a Joint Warfighting Instructor at Air Command and Staff College, responsible for training 500+ operational and air-minded officers and interagency professionals per year.  Ty is a 2008 Kent State University graduate where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master of Architecture and Environmental Design degrees.  She also holds an additional Master’s degree in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.  Ty has served at the tactical and operational levels as a Civil Engineer (CE) Operations Flight Commander x2, Squadron Section Commander, HQ USAFE-AFAFRICA A4 Operational Planner and CE Functional Area Manager, and USAFCENT Air Advisor.  Additionally, she has completed USCENTCOM deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, and Resolute Support.  Prior to her current assignment, she served as an Officer Training School Instructor with the 217th Training Squadron at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, responsible for educating, training, and commissioning 2.4K officers of character per year.
Lt Col Thomas A. Smicklas is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Smicklas is a 1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he received a BS in Hospital Administration. He also has a MBA from the University of Maryland and a MS in Military Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College. A space and missile operator and financial manager, he has served in a variety of operational assignments to include squadron command and deployed to Amman, Jordan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He served two staff tours at Air Force Space Command and most recently served as a Course Director in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies and Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security Center of Innovation at the US Air Force Academy.
Mr. Brent Lawniczak is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC).  A retired Marine aviator (UH-1N/UC-12), he has served in multiple theaters in various capacities. He served as the Senior Marine Corps Advisor to the Commandant of ACSC from 2008-2012. Additionally, Brent was qualified as a Command Pilot, Forward Air Controller (Airborne) (FAC(A)), Forward Air Controller (FAC)/Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), and Weapons and Tactics Instructor. His interests and expertise include Joint planning, operational design, joint fires, maritime and amphibious operations, aviation operations, policy formulation, American politics, and international relations.
Dr. Christopher Weimar is an Assistant Professor of National Security Studies in the Joint Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He holds an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a M.A. in International Relations from Boston University, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Fordham University. Prior to his arrival at ACSC, Dr. Weimar has taught in various public college and university political science programs. A retired US Air Force Colonel, Dr. Weimar served in both Active and Reserve status in Communications-Information Systems Management, Cyberspace Operations, and Logistics Readiness. He has served at all levels from flight to Combatant Command, and has deployed to the African theater, Kuwait, and Iraq. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Director of Logistics and Engineering at North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. He is a graduate of both ACSC and AWC by correspondence and completed the Joint and Combined Warfighting School-Hybrid Program.
Dr. Joe Osborne is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is also a retired Army Special Forces Colonel who has served in Command and Staff positions at every level. His culminating assignment was as the J3, Director of Operations, at Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) where he also served as the J5, Director of Plans, Policy and Strategy. He has a PhD in International Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University and a Master’s in National Security Affairs from the Naval Post Graduate School. He holds a Bachelor’s in Criminology from Florida State University where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He was also the Distinguished Officer Graduate from the Special Forces Qualification Course. His recent publications include an examination of the 2014 Syria Train and Equip initiative, an examination of early counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, and a case study on the Rojava Kurds and the Battle of Kobani. His military assignments have included operations and deployments throughout Africa, South and Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. He served as a Special Forces Operational Detachment - Alpha Commander and Company Commander in 1st Special Forces Group and as a Company Commander, Battalion S3 and Deputy Group Commander in the 3d Special Forces Group.
Commander Chris Bradshaw serves as a course instructor in the Department of Joint Warfighting. He holds a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master’s in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He has deployed to the Arabian Gulf and the Somali Basin as an anti-submarine/anti-surface-ship helicopter pilot and to the western Pacific as Officer-in-Charge of a helicopter detachment. His shore assignments include working as an Operational Planning Team Leader for US Naval Forces Europe and as Future Plans Center Director for US Naval Forces Central Command. His personal decorations include the 2 awards of the Air Medal for operations against Somali pirates.
LTC La Fran Marks is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is a 1998 graduate of Miles College where he received a BS in Political Science. LTC Marks is a graduate of both the US Army Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College. He holds Master Degrees in Public Administration (Troy University) and Strategic Studies (Army War College). LTC Marks has commanded a Personnel Service Detachment, two Infantry Companies, and an Infantry Battalion. He has served at the tactical, operational, and strategic level. His former Staff Officer positions include: Joint Planner, Executive Officer, Career Manager, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Deputy J3. His most recent assignment was as the Deputy Commander for the 199th Infantry Brigade, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Dr. Christopher M. Stamper is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. A retired U.S. Navy Commander, he has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Oceanography from the United States Naval Academy, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from Capella University, specializing in East African Affairs. He has been a flight instructor and taught at the US Naval Academy and the Air War College.
Dr. Ann Mezzell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Georgia as well as an MA from the same field from the University of Alabama. Her fields of concentration include international relations and comparative politics. In addition to teaching core curriculum, she is an instructor for electives covering the topics of state fragility and peacekeeping operations. Her research interests center on American foreign policy, human security, and military strategy. Her recent publications appear in Strategic Studies Quarterly and Parameters.


Department of Leadership

The Department of Leader and Research Development (DEL) organizes and executes the “Leadership and the Profession of Arms” and “Leadership in Command” core courses as well as the ACSC electives program.  In the Leadership courses students have the opportunity to hone their personal leadership philosophies, better understand the complexities of leading people and organizations, and prepare for future command and staff responsibilities.  The department also conducts the ACSC Faculty Research Focal Program which provides the necessary time for faculty members to complete long-term research projects nearing publication.  Finally, the department promotes student and faculty research within the journal and publishing house community to bring the research to publication and to advance fields of study.

Dr. Lisa L. Beckenbaugh is the Chair of the Leader and Research Development Department at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Dr. Beckenbaugh received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State University and her PhD from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Beckenbaugh has taught at a variety of undergraduate and graduate civilian institutions. Her book, The Versailles Treaty: A Documentary and Reference Guide for ABC-CLIO, was published in 2018. Dr. Beckenbaugh also serves as the faculty advisor for the Gathering of Eagles elective and has edited five of their published books, most recently, Why We Stay: Stories of Unity and Perseverance. Dr. Beckenbaugh’s current research is on the 1st MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), later redesignated 8209th MASH, during the Korean War.
Lt Col Dan “Outlaw” McGuire is in the first year as an SDE Fellow (ACSC Instructor) with duties as the Deputy Department Chair for Leader and Research Development.  In this role, he teaches the Leadership and the Profession of Arms and the Leadership in Command courses.  Lt Col McGuire also assists in the Logistics and the Use of Military Force elective.  He received his bachelors degree in pyschology from Miami University of Ohio (2004), a masters degree in transportation management from the Air Force Institute of Technology (2018), and a master's degree in strategic foresight (2011) and Doctorate of Strategic Leadership (2016) from Regent University.  Prior to this assignment, Lt Col McGuire was the squadron commander for the 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Luke Air Force Base where he was responsible for 380 Airmen sustaining all materiel management, vehicle management, fuel management, deployment and distribution for the largest Fighter Wing in the world.  He is a career logistician with assignments in ACC, GSC, AFMC, AETC and deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and the Pacific.
Lt Col Jerry ‘Giant’ Chua is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). An Air Warfare Officer from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deployed under the Military Personnel Exchange Program, Lt Col Chua is a qualified instructor on multiple ground-based air defense systems and sensor platforms. He completed the ACSC In-Residence program in May 2022 as a Distinguished Graduate. Prior to ACSC, Lt Col Chua held operational and staff positions at various echelons from squadron to HQ RSAF, including capability development officer and chief trainer. Most recently, he served as a career manager in the Air Manpower Department. Lt Col Chua holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Banking and Financial Services) from Nanyang Technological University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.
Dr. Amber B. Batura is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Leader and Research Development. She currently serves as deputy course director for the Leadership and the Profession of Arms Course. She teaches courses in Leadership, Airpower, and International Security as well as offering the War and Gender elective. Dr. Batura advises the Commandant Speaker Series and serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for ACSC and participates in various committees at ACSC and AU. Prior to joining ACSC in March 2021, she was an instructor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She also taught online courses for Texas Tech Costa Rica and the University of Texas Permian Basin. Dr. Batura graduated with her Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech University in 2018. Her specialization looks at the intersection between war and culture and war and society, with a special focus on gender and the military. She has published articles in The New York Times, the Journal of American-East Asian Relations, and has contributed to edited volumes on the Vietnam War. She is currently working on a manuscript on the importance of Playboy magazine to soldiers in the Vietnam War.
Lt Col Andy “SNAP” Meyrahn is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development. Lt Col Meyrahn is a graduate of the Joint All Domain Strategist (JADS) concentration while attending In-Residence Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Prior to attending ACSC, Lt Col Meyrahn served as division chief for information and cyber test operations at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 5 at Edwards AFB, CA. Lt Col Meyrahn is a senior combat systems officer (K12B) with over 2,000 hours in the B-52H, T-1A, T-6, and C-12. Lt Col Meyrahn received a B.A. in geographic information systems from California State University, San Bernardino, CA (2008), a M.A. in human services with executive leadership focus from Liberty University online (2014), a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL (2021), and is currently working on a Doctorate of Strategic Leadership from Liberty University online.
Dr. Daniel A. Connelly serves in the Department of Leadership at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He is a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer whose background includes operational tours at headquarters and flying unit echelons and deployments to Southwest and Far East Asia. He has taught courses in International Security, Leadership Studies, Air Power Theory, the Just War Tradition, Russian Studies and Educational Methodology. He holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Auburn University, and master’s degrees in strategic intelligence and Russian culture with a concentration in international security. He has published on topics ranging from leadership theory to higher education to former Soviet Union affairs and has participated in multiple empirical investigations related to these topics. He has served as an adjunct professor on ethics at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College for several years. He is currently working on a book on international relations theory. Previously, Dan served as Dean of Academic Affairs at Squadron Officer College.
Lt Col Cortesio is married to Sarah and together they have two sons: Bryant and Elijah. Drew is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He holds an Associate of Arts degree, a bachelor’s degree in management and organizations, a master’s degree in operations management, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science.  He is a 64P mission-focused business leader in the USAF who has served in various leadership roles in stateside and contingency operations.
Lt Col Ericka Hernandez is the deputy course director for Leadership in Command in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College.  Lt Col Hernandez leads courses on Leadership and the Profession of Arms. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology (2003), her master’s degree in business administration (2007), and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University (2014). Prior to this assignment, Lt Col Hernandez was the chief of officer development at HAF/A1D where she oversaw the officer IDE and SDE portfolio.  Her command experience includes the 316th Force Support Squadron, Joint Base Andrews where she was responsible for over 700 Airmen in full spectrum support to over 55 thousand personnel in the National Capital Region and the 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, Ali Al Salem, Kuwait where she was responsible for 435 personnel in support of INHERENT RESOLVE.  She is a career force support officer with assignments in ACC, AFMC, AETC, USAFE, PACAF, AFDW, HQ/AF and has deployed to Cuba, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Dr. Paul Johstono is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is currently the course director for Leadership and the Profession of Arms. He teaches courses on Leadership and Ethics, Military Theory, and Airpower. He teaches or has taught elective courses on the Great Captains of military history, Roman Great Power Competition, and the Vietnam War. He regularly leads walking tours and staff rides on leadership, strategy, and social innovation in the Montgomery Civil Rights Movement. He is the ACSC representative to the SACS QEP, a member of the AU Ethics Working Group, and works on several ACSC and AU committees. Prior to joining ACSC in January 2019, he was Associate Professor for History of Warfare at The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. Dr. Johstono received his bachelor’s degree in history from Furman University in Greenville, SC (2005) and his master’s degree (2008) and Ph.D. (2012) in history from Duke University. He specializes in warfare and military institutions in the Hellenistic era, approximately from Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar. He has published numerous articles and chapters on subjects ranging from ancient insurgency to battlefield investigation to demography and ethnography. His first book, on the Army of Ptolemaic Egypt, was published at the end of 2020. He is on the editorial board for the Brill series on War in World History. He is currently completing projects on ethics and diversity, ancient leadership and strategy, ancient cases of military adaptation and resiliency, and a systems theory analysis of ancient great powers.
Lt Col Colonel Joseph “Winters” Ladymon is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government and history (dual majors) from the College of William and Mary, a master's degree in national security studies from American Military University, and a master's degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma. Lt Col Ladymon also attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Ladymon commanded the 314 Training Squadron at the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey, where he led 750 personnel at two geographically separated units undergoing language training for USAF missions worldwide. Lt Col Ladymon is a career intelligence professional and targeting analyst, weapons school graduate and instructor, and has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn.
Maj Adam Love is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development. Major Love is a graduate of ACSC with a leadership specialization. Major Love holds a bachelor's degree in Meteorology from Ohio University, a Master of Business Administration from National American University, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. Prior to attending ACSC, Major Love was the combat weather detachment commander at Fort Carson, Colorado where he led 37 personnel in support of the 4th Infantry Division. Major Love is a career weather officer with operational assignments in EUCOM, ACC, and CENTCOM, and deployments to Jordan and the UAE.
Dr. Sebastian Lukasik is Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development at Air Command and Staff College, where he serves as director of the ACSC In-Residence Electives Program. He holds a Ph.D. in military history from Duke University. His research and teaching interests include combat motivation, the history and theory of airpower, and military culture. He is currently completing a book manuscript on the emergence of combined-arms warfare in the First World War and its implications for soldiers’ experience of and responses to the stresses of modern combat.
Lt Col Eric Peterson is the course director for Leadership in Command in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College. He instructs both Leadership in Command and Leadership and the Profession of Arms courses. He has a bachelor's degree in computer science from the United States Air Force Academy and three master’s degrees: theology from Liberty University, operational art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), and strategic studies from Air University. He has a diverse military background, including two tours in Air Mobility Command as a C-17A pilot and two tours in Air Education and Training Command. He served as an Air Power strategist at Headquarters Air Force, developing the Air Force’s long-term strategy. Prior to attending Air War College and transitioning to Air Command and Staff College, Lt Col Peterson was squadron commander of the 99th Flying Training Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
Lt Col Scott Smith is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He teaches Leadership and the Profession of Arms and Leadership in Command courses. He holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Baylor University, a master’s degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Smith commanded the AETC Computer Systems Squadron where he led 70 members in ensuring communications to the command’s 12 bases, developing, maintaining and operating AETC mission systems, guiding policy and implementation of the command’s spectrum management, and providing executive communication support to AETC HQ staff. Lt Col Smith is a 17D warfighter communications officer with operational assignments in AMC, AFSPC, ACC, and AETC, and staff assignments at the NAF and MAJCOM levels.
Chaplain, Lt Col Richard “Rick” Steen is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC (1998), a Master of Divinity from The Master’s University and Seminary in Sun Valley, CA (2003), a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University (2019), and he is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry in Leadership from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to attending ACSC, Lt Col Steen served 14 years as a staff chaplain and wing chaplain at the 134th Air Refueling Wing (TN ANG) in Knoxville, Tennessee. He currently serves as the wing chaplain for the 187th Fighter Wing (AL ANG) in Montgomery.
Lt Col Matt “Indy” Ziemann is an instructor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College.  He teaches Leadership and the Profession of Arms, Leadership in Command, Airpower Strategy and Operations, and is the military advisor for the Gathering of Eagles.  He is a career intelligence officer and political-military affairs strategist with a background primarily in special operations.  He is an instructor/evaluator senior airborne ISR Operator with over 1200 flight hours in a variety of special operations aircraft including over 850 combat hours flown in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation NEW DAWN.  He is also a civilian pilot owning an RV-4 for the past 17 years and flying WWII warbirds for the Commemorative Air Force.  Lt Col Ziemann commanded the 392d Intelligence Squadron and served as military deputy director of Air University’s Commanders’ Professional Development School running O-6 pre-command training prior to his arrival on ACSC faculty.  He received his Bachelor of Science in management from the US Air Force Academy and holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in strategic leadership from Trident University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.


Department of Joint Education

Joint All Domain Strategist was formerly Multi Domain Operational Strategist (MDOS) is an AETC award winning program for innovation in multi domain operations and joint warfighting.  It is a year-long, advanced level course focusing on developing future leaders who understand how to employ multi domain operational maneuver to counter emerging threats.  This concentration prepares selected students for operational and command assignments requiring cutting-edge knowledge of planning and operations. Students study and apply strategic and operational design, the joint operations planning process, reflexive control, decision making theory, and risk analysis.  Additionally, students participate in exercises and wargames with German and Polish War Colleges, as well as the Doolittle Wargame Series.  Post-graduation approximately 40% of MDOS students attend SAASS, SAMS or SAW, 10% are selected for command, and 50% receive operational-level assignments.

Dr. Jeffery M. Reilly, LTC, USA (Retired) is the Chairman of the Department of Joint Education at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and Director of the Multi Domain Operational Strategist Concentration. Dr. Reilly is a retired Army officer with 26 years of active-duty service. He began his service as a draftee and served 28 consecutive months in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. His theater-level planning and operations experience includes serving as a theater level combined and joint operations officer, plans division chief, and member of the Secretary of Defense’s “two major theater war” plans team. Dr. Reilly received his MA from the University of Houston and his PhD from the University of Alabama. He is an adjunct faculty member for the NATO School’s Operational Planning Course, a speaker at the USAF Weapons Instructor Course, and a member of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Military Education Coordination Council Working Group. Dr. Reilly has also given a number of presentations at international defense colleges including: the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, in Hamburg, Germany, the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Ethiopian Defense Staff College in Addis Ababa and the Polish National Defense University in Warsaw. Additionally, he conducted research on design in Afghanistan during 2010, 2011, and 2012 and on the future of C4ISR in Iraq and Africa during 2016. He is the author of Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive Action. His most recent article What’s After Joint? concerning multi domain operations was published in the March 2016 edition of the Air and Space Power Journal. In 2018, he won the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) award for innovation in multi domain and joint warfighting abilities.

Research Interest/Expertise: Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Operational Design, C4ISR, Operational Planning, International Relations, Irregular Warfare, Future Security Threats.

Budd A. Jones is an Assistant Professor and Course Director for the Multi Domain Operational Strategist concentration at the Air Command and Staff College. He received his M.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1986. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in the history of technology at Auburn University. While on active duty in the Air Force he flew fighter aircraft and worked as an operational level air and joint planner. He also served as the Director of Military History at the Air Force Academy. Following his retirement he joined the ACSC faculty in 1996 and has taught courses on military theory, airpower history, international relations and security studies and operational air and joint planning. His research interests include the development of night fighting technology and its impact on training and operations.

Research Interest/Expertise: Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Military Theory, Clausewitz Studies.


Department of Spacepower

The Department of Spacepower is home of the Schriever Space Scholars program, a rigorous year-long immersion for developing space strategists. The program is the nation’s first space-centric military developmental education opportunity for interagency, international and joint military members as well as future U.S. Space Force leaders. The department’s purpose is threefold: to build a core of skilled space domain strategists who will serve as key leaders, advocates and advisors to warfighting commanders and national leadership; explore the operational implications of space as a warfighting domain; and serve as a mechanism to infuse the best of operational and strategic space thought into the core Air Command and Staff College curriculum and across Air University. As part of their studies, Schriever Space Scholars participate in space war games, meet with senior leaders and experts throughout the U.S. national space enterprise, and produce a personal research capstone project to present to U.S. Space Force leaders at the culmination of their studies.

Dr. Andrea Harrington currently serves as the Dean of Space Education at Air University. Prior to her current role, she served as Chair of the Department of Spacepower and Director of the Schriever Space Scholars concentration at Air Command and Staff College, where she is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies. Dr. Harrington previously served on the faculty of the University of Mississippi School of Law as the Associate Director of the LLM Program in Air and Space Law. She has also served as Associate Chair for the Policy, Economics, and Law Department of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program.  Dr. Harrington was an Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellow in Space Governance at the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL), where her doctoral research focused on insurance and liability issues for the commercial space industry. Dr. Harrington holds a DCL and LLM in Air and Space Law from the McGill IASL, as well as a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law, an MSc in European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics, and a BA in International Relations and History from Boston University. She is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts. Dr. Harrington serves as a member of the editorial board for the McGill Annals of Air and Space Law, New Space Journal, the Space Force Journal, and the American Bar Association publication The Air and Space Lawyer.  She is the author of the book “Space Insurance and the Law: Maximizing Private Activities in Outer Space” and numerous articles and book chapters, primarily focused on space law and policy.

Research Interest/Expertise: Space Law and Policy, International Law, International Relations, Treaty Interpretation, Aviation Law, Science Fiction

Dr. Gregory Miller is Chair of the Department of Spacepower and Director of the Schriever Space Scholars program at the Air Command and Staff College. Before joining ACSC, he was Chair of the Strategy Department at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School. Prior to that he held faculty positions at the College of William & Mary, the University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University.  Dr. Miller received Bachelor’s Degrees in Political Science and History from the University of California, Los Angeles (1996), a Master’s Degree in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University (1998), and a Master’s Degree (2000) and Ph.D. (2004) in Political Science from The Ohio State University.  His 2012 book, The Shadow of the Past: Reputation and Military Alliances before the First World War, is part of Cornell University Press’ Security Affairs series. His scholarship also appears in more than a dozen journals, including recent space-related articles in Space Policy, Air and Space Power Journal, The Space Review, and The Strategy Bridge.  He also has an article forthcoming in Astropolitics and a book manuscript under contract with Naval Institute Press titled Sun Tzu in Space: What International Relations, History, and Science Fiction Tell Us about Our Future.

Research Interest/Expertise: International relations theory and international security (especially reputation and military alliances), terrorism and political violence, strategy formulation and evaluation, the application of international relations and political violence concepts to spacepower theory.

Dr. Everett Carl Dolman is Professor of Comparative Military Studies at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. His focus is on international relations and theory, and he has been identified as Air University’s first space theorist. Dr. Dolman began his career as an intelligence analyst for the National Security Agency, and moved to the United States Space Command in 1986. In 1991, he received the Director of Central Intelligence’s Outstanding Intelligence Analyst award. Dr. Dolman received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. He then taught international relations and international political economy at The College of William & Mary, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Berry College before taking his current position at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. Dr. Dolman received the Air Force’s Educator of the Year Award for 2003/04. His published works include Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age (2002); The Warrior State: How Military Organization Structures Politics (2004), Pure Strategy: Power and Principle in the Information Age (2005), and Can Science End War? (2015). He has written numerous book chapters as well as articles for the Journal of Strategic Studies, Comparative Strategy, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Journal of Small Wars and Insurgencies, Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, Citizenship Studies, Politics and Society, Journal of Political and Military Sociology, and The Air and Space Power Review. Dr. Dolman is also co-founder and editor emeritus of Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Power and Policy and editor of Routledge’s Space Power and Politics book series.

Research Interest/Expertise: Military Strategy, Space and Cyber Power, Civil-Military Relations, Intelligence, Military Theory and Philosophy.

Major Jiemin Hou is an Air University Fellow and Instructor in the Department of Spacepower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is a graduate of ACSC and the Schriever Space Scholars in AY21. Maj Hou previously served as a Joint Staff J2 targeting officer in the Pentagon. He also served as Flight Commander, 20th Intel Squadron, Offutt, Nebraska. His other assignments include 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home, Idaho, and ROTC Instructor at the University of Maryland. He also deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. Major Houreceived his BS and MS degrees in molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of Connecticut. He also graduated with a BA in government and politics from the University of Maryland, a MA in intelligence studies from the American Military University, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School. Major Hou is a Language Enabled Airman (LEAP) in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.

Research Interest/Expertise: Military strategy and operation, spacepower, business strategy and management, finance and accounting, data analytics, and modeling.

Dr Kun-Chin Lin is Professor of Military and Security Studies at the Department of Spacepower at the Air Command and Staff College. He was a University Lecturer in Politics and Tun Suffian College Lecturer and Fellow at the Gonville & Caius College, and directed the Centre for Rising Powers and the Centre on Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. Dr Lin received his PhD in Political Science from UC Berkeley, was a Leverhulme postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, and taught at King’s College London and the National University of Singapore. His principal interests are the political economy of China as a rising power and its implications for the global order, and has published extensively on maritime powers in Asia, Chinese energy and transport infrastructure policies, and Asian regionalism and global governance, including articles in Energy Policy, Marine Policy, Transport Research Part A and Part D, Transport Policy, Asian Survey, China Journal, Pacific Focus, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Political Studies Review, Enterprise & Society, and Business & Politics. His research has been supported by the British Academy, Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, and Korea Foundation, etc. He is an editorial board member of Business and Politics, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, and Maritime Policy & Management, and was an associate fellow of the Chatham House in London.

Research Interest/Expertise: Space and maritime power, geoeconomics, international relations, state capitalism, China, Indo-Pacific

Captain Matthew Nedved is the Director of Operations of the Schriever Space Scholars, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He is a Space Operations officer who has previous experience at the squadron and group levels operating, training, and evaluating officer and enlisted Military Satellite Communications operators. His prior assignments include Extremely High Frequency Satellite Systems Officer, Chief of Training for Mobile Operations and Crew Commander while in the 4th Space Operations Squadron, as well as Staff Evaluator and Standardizations Branch Chief for the 50th Operations Group. Captain Nedved graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota State University. 

Research Interest/Expertise: Military Satellite Communications, Mobile Space Operations and the United States Space Force.

Dr. Jim Powell teaches Schriever Space Scholars as Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Air Command and Staff College’s Department of Spacepower. A retired U.S. Army colonel and strategic planner, he has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and has served in the Pentagon as speechwriter for the U.S. Army chief of staff and as military advisor to the director of net assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His previous teaching experience includes postings at the U.S. Army War College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, as well as the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Dr. Powell holds a Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University. He has published Learning under Fire: The 112th Cavalry Regiment in World War II and served as a principal author of the U.S. Army’s two-volume study on the Iraq War.

Research Interest/Expertise: World War II’s Pacific theater, strategic appraisal and net assessment, learning and adaptation in military organizations, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Iraq War (2003-2011).

Dr. M.V. “Coyote” Smith, Colonel, USAF (Retired) is an associate professor in the Schriever Scholars program at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College.  He retired from active duty in August 2016 as a command space operations officer serving as a professor of strategic space studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  He has served in various flying, space, and missile assignments and as an instructor at the USAF Weapons School.  During Operation Allied Force (Kosovo) he served as a strategist and targeting officer on Lt General Michael Short's staff at the Air Component headquarters at Dal Molin Air Base in Vicenza, Italy.  During Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), he served at USCENTCOM Headquarters as a strategist on General Tommy Frank’s staff.  He later served as the chief air and space power strategist on the Pentagon’s Strategic Planning Council during Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing advice to the Joint Staff and the Secretary of Defense.  He is the author of Ten Propositions Regarding Spacepower, and the article “America Needs a US Space Corps,” which triggered Congressional and Presidential interest in an independent space service.

Research Interest/Expertise:  All things spacepower; independent space service, space deterrence, space warfare, space control, space commerce, space law enforcement, off-Earth settlement, advanced space technologies, future space concepts, and dinosaurs, because space and dinosaurs are cool!

Dr. Samantha A. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Schriever Space Scholars Department of Spacepower at Air Command and Staff College. Dr Taylor joined ACSC in 2021 and teaches War Theory and Joint War Fighting. Before coming to ACSC she started her career in Professional Military Education with a Postdoctoral Fellowship at U.S. Naval War College where she taught Theater National Security Decision Making in 2017. In 2018 she left USNWC and taught as Visiting Professor at US. Army War College in the Department of National Security and Strategy where she taught theories of war, international relations, and national security strategy and policy making. Her Ph.D. is in US diplomatic and military history with an emphasis on the Cold War to 1998 from the University of Southern Mississippi. 

Research Interest/Expertise: Along with US diplomatic and military history, Dr. Taylor studies European military and diplomatic history, World War I, World War II, US national security strategy and policy making, cultural history, international relations, and mass communications.

Dr. Brent D. Ziarnick is an Assistant Professor of  Spacepower and Schriever Space Scholars faculty at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.  Dr. Ziarnick is a command space operations officer in the Air Force Reserve with extensive experience in Global Positioning System (GPS), space-based space domain awareness, offensive space control, and theater space command and control operations.  In civilian life he was a launch operations engineer at Spaceport America, New Mexico where he developed the long-range plan for the world’s first purpose-built inland commercial spaceport’s vertical launch activity.  He holds doctorates in economic development from New Mexico State University and military strategy from Air Univeristy, a master’s degree in space systems engineering from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a bachelor’s degree in space operations from the United States Air Force Academy, and is a graduate of both the Air Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Dr. Ziarnick is the author of two books and multiple articles on space power theory and strategy.


Department of International Security (IS)

The Department of International Security is made up of civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation’s allies. Faculty within the department are responsible for teaching, research, and service. The department develops and delivers two of the core courses: International Security 1 and International Security 2. The first course, IS 1, provides a comprehensive overview of the context in which the development of US grand strategy occurs. The second course, IS 2, explores the conduct of national security through the lens of military strategy.

 

Lt Col Michael P. Kreuzer is Department Chairman for International Security and Assistant Professor of International Security Studies at Air Command and Staff College.  He holds a PhD in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage, a Masters of Strategic Intelligence from American Military University, and a BS in History from the US Air Force Academy.   He is a career intelligence officer who has served multiple combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was the Director of Operations for Distributed Ground Station-1.  Prior to his current assignment, he was the Associate Military Provost for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, CA.  His research interests include the adoption of emerging technologies by states and military forces, and the organizational capacity required to adapt to changes in the operating environment.
Dr. Matthew R. Schwonek currently is the Deputy Department Chairman, Department of International Security, Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is Associate Professor of Comparative Military Studies. His responsibilities include teaching ACSC core courses in military theory, international relations, and security studies.  He also teaches elective course on politics and security in Central Europe.  He received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in East Central European and Russian History from the Ohio State University in 1994. Before coming to ACSC in 1996, he served as assistant director of Ohio State’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies.  His research interests include European military and diplomatic history, the history of Poland, Russia/Soviet Union, and Balkans.  He has published articles and book chapters on the history of Polish arms. He is currently completing a political and military biography of Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski, spanning a career from terrorist to Commander in Chief.
Lt Col Andrew Ulat is the Director of Staff for the Department of International Security at Air Command and Staff College.  He holds a MS in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University and is a certified instructor of International Security Courses I and II. Lt Col Ulat is a career Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Launch Control Officer with 18 years of experience in ICBM operations, ICBM flight testing and evaluations as well as two joint assignments in Nuclear Command, Control and Communications. He was twice selected to serve as a Presidential Strike Advisor first with the National Airborne Operations Center at USSTRATCOM and then with the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon. Lt Col Ulat has staff experience at the group and Joint Staff levels.  He has also served as an ICBM instructor/evaluator, group executive officer, two-time flight commander in both an operational and flight test squadron, an airspace surveillance officer, an Emergency Actions Officer and as an Assistant to the Deputy Director of Operations at the Pentagon.  Lt Col Ulat received his commission in December 2002 from the Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.  As an Air Force Nuclear Technical Fellow, he graduated from the Weapons Intern Program at Sandia National Laboratories in 2016.  Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Ulat served as an Assistant Director of Operations and as the Chief of Safety at Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
Dr. Kevin C. Holzimmer is Deputy Chairman of the Department of International Security and Professor of Comparative Military Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC).  Before his current position at ACSC, he was a research professor at the USAF Air Force Research Institute and taught at the School for Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Dr. Holzimmer has published numerous studies on World War II in the Pacific, including General Walter Krueger: Unsung Hero of the Pacific War (University Press of Kansas).  He is currently working on a book-length project that examines how the principal air, land, and sea commanders forged an effective joint team that successfully fought the Japanese in Douglas MacArthur’s Southwest Pacific Area.  In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Holzimmer has worked on recent policy concerns, first with GEN David H. Petraeus’ USCENTCOM Joint Strategic Assessment Team (9 October 2008- February 2009) and most recently conducting fieldwork in charting a U.S. Air Force strategy based upon President Obama’s famous “pivot to Asia” speech.  He holds a PhD in military history from Temple University.
Lt Col Dustin Hansen is an instructor embedded within the Department of International Security at Air Command and Staff College. By trade, he is a Weather and Environmental Science Officer (AFSC: 15W) with previous assignments including squadron command, deputy group command and various staff positions at U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, U.S Africa Command and Headquarters Air Force. Dustin graduated from Cedarville University, Ohio, earning a Bachelors in Communications and later enlisted in the Air Force.  After a few years, he received his commission at Air Force's Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB.  As an FGO, Dustin completed Air Command and Staff College and Air War College via correspondence.  Additionally, he holds a Masters in International Relations from Troy University.  Dustin is a static line jumpmaster and his combat experience includes OEF Afghanistan where he deployed with the 82d Airborne Division's Combat Aviation Brigade.  He also served two separate tours to Korea where he supported the 8th Army and US Forces Korea.
Lt Col Blas is an assistant professor at Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and the Director of Instruction for the department of International Security. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from Valdosta State University, Masters in National Security Strategy from Naval Postgraduate School, Masters in Military Operational Art and Science from ACSC, and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Utah.  Lt Col Blas is a career Intelligence officer with 17 years of experience at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.  His experience spans six deployments supporting combat search and rescue and special operations combat missions in operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Inherent Resolve. Lt Col Blas received his commission in 2004 from the United States Air Force Academy. Since then, he has been assigned to numerous operational and staff positions at Moody AFB GA, Izmir Turkey, Fort Bragg NC, and Scott AFB, IL. Most recently he completed his PhD from the University of Utah where his dissertation explored strategic narratives' connection to military strategy development. Lt Col Blas is currently working on two projects. In the first, he is refining his dissertation's theoretical findings and connecting them with our current understanding of Information Warfare. In his second project, he is exploring President Vladimir Putin's use of nuclear rhetoric during the Ukraine Crisis. He teaches Military Theory, International Security, and Contemporary Warfare.
Wing Commander Robin Kemp is the RAF Exchange Officer at ACSC. He is a graduate of ACSC and SAASS, and teaches Military Theory, International Security, and Contemporary Warfare. Commissioned as an RAF Intelligence officer, Wg Cdr Kemp has worked predominantly in SIGINT and Strategic Intelligence Analysis. Operational tours include Iraq and Afghanistan, the latter as one of Gen McChrystal and Maj Gen Flynn's British intelligence advisors. More recently, he has specialized in targeting, and was the senior British targeteer at Al Udeid CAOC for operations against ISIL. Wg Cdr Kemp's tour prior to ACSC was as Deputy Chief Effects in SHAPE, NATO, where he established the Centralized Targeting Capacity and the Joint Effects concept (think JADS). In addition to his ACSC Masters, he holds an Masters in Musical Analysis & Composition, a Master of Arts in International Security, and a Master of Philosophy in Strategy. Wg Cdr Kemp is currently working on his PhD, examining contemporary Open-Source Intelligence and its ability to acknowledge military activities.
As an Air Command and Staff College Fellow, Major Hamilton is currently assigned as an instructor in the Department of International Security.  A fighter pilot by trade, Major Hamilton has 1,000 hours in the F-16 as well as 1,000 hours in the T-38. His previous assignments include Aviano AB, Osan AB, Luke AFB and Sheppard AFB.  He commissioned through the ROTC program at New Mexico State University in 2009.
Maj Matthew Pineda is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of International Security at the United States Air Force's Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Maj Pineda completed the ACSC In-Residence program in May 2022. He received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 2009 and completed pilot training at Vance AFB, OK. Prior to ACSC, Maj Pineda taught at the KC-135 Formal Training Unit as an Instructor/Evaluator Pilot and was the Director of Staff for the 97th Operational Support Squadron, Altus AFB, OK. He holds a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University and a Master of Business Administration from American Military University. Maj Pineda is an AETC Master Instructor and Senior Pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in the KC-135 and MC-12 aircraft.
Dr. Andrew Akin is an Associate Professor of National Security studies at the Air Command and Staff College. He attend Wabash College in Indiana for undergraduate school, studying political science & Russian language. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in International Relations. Having studied and traveled extensively in Russia as an undergrad and graduate student on a Fulbright-hays fellowship, his research focuses on both armed conflict & the post-Soviet states. He was the 2017 AETC civilian educator of the year.  His published work appears in outlets such as The Washington Post, and the Journal, Russian Politics. He is also a classically trained cellist and performs regularly with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Kathryn Boehlefeld is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies at Air University's Air Command and Staff College, and a faculty member for the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS). She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and her B.A. from Northern Illinois University. She is also a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School. Dr. Boehlefeld teaches courses on nuclear deterrence theory and practice, international security, and comparative civil-military relations. Her research centers on international security, with a particular focus on national security policy, civil-military relations, and nuclear deterrence. Currently, she is working on projects related to conventional-nuclear integration, military professionalism, and a comparative study of the efficacy of the Iranian and North Korea nuclear sanctions.
Dr. Melvin G. Deaile is the Director of the School of Advanced Nuclear and Deterrence Studies (SANDS) and an Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He teaches classes on nuclear deterrence, nuclear strategy, joint warfighting, and classical military thought. Dr Deaile hails from Fresno, CA native, and is a retired Air Force Colonel, where he served two tours in the B-52 Stratofortress and a tour in the B-2 Spirit. He has flown combat operations as part of Operations DESERT STORM and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, including a record setting 44.3 hour combat mission, and deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and a distinguished graduate of the USAF Weapon School.       Dr. Deaile recently published his first book, Always at War, which chronicles the development of SAC’s organizational culture under Gen Curtis LeMay. He is the author of multiple articles, editorials, and book reviews on nuclear weapons and their role in national security.
Dr. William Dean is an Associate Professor of History at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, AL. He is a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) and received his doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago in European military and diplomatic history. He was a Chateaubriand recipient from the French government and has won the Military Officer of America Association (MOAA) award for civilian educator of the year and the Major General John Alison Award for Air Force Special Operations. He has published on French colonial warfare, intelligence, and air power issues in Revue Historique des Armées, Penser les Ailes Françaises, Defense Intelligence Review, and several chapters in various books.
Dr. Robert DiPrizio is an Associate Professor of Security and Military Studies at Air Command and Staff College. He is an expert on numerous security issues such as humanitarian interventions and the Arab-Israeli conflict.  He is the author of “Armed Humanitarians: US Interventions from Northern Iraq to Kosovo,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and is editor of “Conflict in the Holy Land: From Ancient Times to the Arab-Israeli Conflicts” published by ABC-CLIO. Dr. DiPrizio grew up in the Boston area and earned his PhD in International Relations in 2000 from the University of Delaware.  He now lives in Prattville with his two children and a massive dog named Buddy.
The son of a thirty-year Army non-commissioned officer, Colonel (ret) Michael L. Grumelli earned his Ph.D. in military history from Rutgers University in 1991.  Since earning his doctorate, he has been assigned to the faculty of the United States Air Force Academy, as the Deputy Director of Military History, as an instructor with the Air War College’s Department of Strategy, Doctrine, and Airpower, in addition to teaching with the School of Advance Air and Space Studies.  He currently teaches in the Department of International Security of the Air Command and Staff College.  Dr. Grumelli’s primary interest as an educator is in the intellectual demands of national security and gray zone warfare in an era of great power competition.
Dr. Wes Hutto is Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of International Security. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alabama. He serves as Course Director of International Security I: The Context of International Security, and offers an elective on comparative regional security. His research interests include international security, military science, multinational military exercises and US foreign policy, and comparative regional security. His work has been published in Defence Studies and RUSI Journal.
Dr. Michael Ryan Kraig is Associate Professor of International Security Studies at Air Command and Staff College.  He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University at Buffalo, New York, with a major in international security studies and a minor in comparative politics.  Dr. Kraig served in several senior capacities with the Stanley Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan foundation devoted to researching and advocating security policy options for the US and its competitors that would moderate the extremes of their geopolitical disagreements. He was a frequent traveler to Europe, the Middle East and Asia to give scholarly presentations on US policy thinking and strategy, alongside management and implementation of broad-based “track-2,” informal diplomatic dialogues among a wide range of senior national and global political leaders, think-tank analysts, and academics from global capitals such as Tehran, Riyadh, Damascus, Cairo, Dubai, Muscat (Oman), Berlin, London, Moscow, and Beijing. Prior to joining the foundation, Dr. Kraig interned with what is now known as the Government Accountability Office on nuclear weapons issues in the post-Cold War era and presented findings on South Asian nuclear arsenals at the UN 2000 NPT Review Conference.
Dr. Todd C. Robinson is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies with the School for Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS) at the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell, AFB.  He was previously an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Enterprise Operations with the Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies at the Air War College.  Prior to this, he was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation and the Associate Director of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  His research focuses on nuclear weapons issues, including strategic deterrence and assurance, military roles and responsibilities, and East Asia, and has been published in the Non-Proliferation Review, Swords and Ploughshares, the Yale Journal of International Affairs, and the National Interest.  He is currently working on a book manuscript on comparative nuclear culture.  His teaching responsibilities include being the instructor of Deterrence Theory and Practice I within the SANDS curriculum, as well as sections of War Theory and International Security II for ACSC and a joint AWC/ACSC elective on Comparative Nuclear Strategy.  He has a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Alabama, an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Lt Col Brian Tileston is an instructor at Air Command and Staff College’s Department of International Security.  In addition to teaching the International Security Course and Joint Warfighting, he is the Deputy Director for the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies.  Lt Col Tileston has multiple assignments throughout the nuclear enterprise and deployments supporting combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East.  He has a Master’s Degree in Airpower Theory and Technology Integration from the Blue Horizons Fellowship and a Bachelor of Business Administration in General Business from Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas.  Prior to his assignment at ACSC, Lt Col Tileston was deployed for a year as the Chief of Strategic Plans/Deputy Division Chief, Strategy Division, 609th Air Operations Center.
Major Lee Payne is currently assigned as Instructor, School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS).  SANDS is a concentration within the Department of International Security at the Air Command and Staff College.  The mission of SANDS is to produce graduates who are proficient in the six core nuclear competencies (Nuclear Operations; Unique Aspects of the Nuclear Mission; U.S. Nuclear Support and Infrastructure; Nuclear Surety; Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications; and Nuclear Policy and Strategy).  Graduates go on to serve in command and/or staff roles where they advice senior leaders of the military on nuclear related matters.  Major Payne was commissioned in 2008 from South Dakota State University and completed Undergraduate Missile Operations training in September 2009.  Major Payne has held numerous positions at the Missile Squadron and Operations Group levels including:  Assistant Operations Officer; Flight Commander; Assistant Chief, Standardization and Evaluation; and Instructor.  Major Payne is a 2014 Graduate of the Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Weapons School.  Major Payne has a staff tour at Air Forces Strategic – Air, where he was the Southern Command Plans Branch Chief.  Major Payne is also a 2022 Graduate of the SANDS program. Major Payne is a senior Nuclear and Missile Operations officer.  He has more than 300 alerts, providing the President of the United States the ability to defend the nation through the execution of the nation’s most prompt nuclear response.


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Dean of Education

Dean of Education

The Dean of Education at the ACSC Resident Program (ACSC-R) is assisted by the Associate Dean of Education (Policy-Strategy) and the Associate Dean of Education (Operations). Together, they help run the day-to-day educational operations of ACSR-R, as well as planning for curriculum integration, accreditation, faculty management and development, and coordination with Air University and other external DoD and civilian agencies.

 
Col Sarah Bakhtiari is the ACSC Resident Dean of Education (DE).  As the ACSC-R Program Manager, Col Bakhtiari is the is the principal advisor to the ACSC Commandant on all aspects of JPME. She provides leadership and strategic guidance to the ACSC-R faculty and ensures accomplishment of the JPME mission. This mission includes execution of all joint professional military education (JPME-I) curriculum requirements to include development of course materials, academic presentations, and standards for implementation, operation, and administration of ACSC-R. Further, Col Bakhtiari ensures ACSC-R complies with external inputs from the SECAF, the CSAF, the Air Staff, Air Force Major Commands, CJCS.
Lt Col Andrew J. Swartzer is the Associate Dean of Education (Operations) and an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies for the Air Command and Staff College. He graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Auburn University, an M.S.A. in Information Resources Management from Central Michigan University, and an M.S. in Adult Education from Troy University. Lt Col Swartzer received his PhD in History of Technology from Auburn University in 2020, where he graduated with distinction. His doctoral dissertation won Auburn University's 2021-2022 Distinguished Dissertation Award. Additionally, his dissertation was nominated for the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, the most prestigious dissertation award in the nation. A career Space and Missile officer, Lt Col Swartzer has held operational assignments in the Minuteman III ICBM and the Global Positioning System (GPS), and he has served in multiple joint, training, and education assignments.
Research Interests/Expertise: Airpower, Mental Models and Institutional Change, Ideology of 20th Century Airpower, Space.
Dr. Jordan R. Hayworth is the Associate Dean for Policy and Strategy at the Air Command and Staff College. He previously served as an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Leader and Research Development, where he was the Deputy Department Chair and Director of Electives. Hayworth received his B.A. in History from High Point University in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in European History from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, where he studied under Dr. Michael V. Leggiere as a Student Fellow of the Military History Center. His doctoral dissertation won the 2016 Edward M. Coffman First Manuscript Prize through the Society for Military History and the 2017 Council of Graduate Schools and ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award at the University of North Texas. His first book, Revolutionary France’s War of Conquest in the Rhineland: Conquering the Natural Frontier, 1792-1797 was published by Cambridge University Press in spring 2019. Currently, he is writing a new history of the 1794 Campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Research Interest/Expertise:  Early Modern and Modern Military History, French History, Modern European History, Political and Diplomatic History.

Dept. of Airpower

Department of Airpower

The Department of Airpower is made up of both experienced civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation’s allies and academic specialties. The department develops and delivers two of ACSC’s core courses, Airpower Strategy and Operations and Contemporary and Emerging Warfare, in support of the USAF’s new mission: To fly, fight, and win… Airpower anytime, anywhere. The first course, Airpower Strategy and Operations, examines the emergence and development of airpower from World War I through the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to better understand airpower employment today. The Contemporary and Emerging Warfare course examines capabilities, limitations, threats, and technology in modern conflicts, incorporating joint doctrine and studying great power and peer adversaries. The courses work together to merge lessons learned from historical and contemporary conflicts with emerging technologies and threats to prepare for future conflict. Airpower…Get Some!

 

Dr. Edwin H. Redman, Colonel, USAF (Retired), is Chair of the Department of Airpower and an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Dr. Redman is a command pilot with tours in each of the Air Force’s bomber aircraft. He served as an instructor pilot in the T-38, B-1 and B-2, and flew combat missions in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in 2003 in the B-2. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, ACSC, and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS). Following SAASS, Dr. Redman attended Duke University, where he received his PhD in History. His last operational assignment was Deputy Commander, 509th Operations Group, Whiteman Air Force Base. He completed his active-duty service at Air University, holding several positions, including Director of Warfighting Education at the LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education, and Director of the Grand Strategy Seminar, Air War College. He retired from the Air Force in 2014 and joined Air University as a civilian professor in 2015.

Research Interest/Expertise: Cold War History, Nuclear Deterrence, Civil-Military Relations, and US National Security

Dr. Jared R. Donnelly is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies and the Course Director of the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare course at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. Dr. Donnelly received his PhD from Texas A&M University and was previously on the faculty of the International Affairs Department at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. Donnelly's research focuses on war and social change in Germany and Europe with a specific interest in the period since 1945. Additionally, he studies strategic design for future security environments and conducts research on decision making in multi-domain operations.

Research Interest/Expertise: Modern Europe, Modern Germany, European War and Society, Nazi Germany, Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Joint Planning.

Dr. Heather P. Venable is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower and the Airpower Strategy and Operations Course Director. She has taught Airpower I, Airpower II, and electives on close air support and the historical experience of combat. She also has served as the Airpower II course director. As a visiting professor at the US Naval Academy, she taught naval and Marine Corps history. She graduated with a BA in History from Texas A&M University and an MA in American History from the University of Hawai’i. She received her PhD in military history from Duke University. She also has attended the Space Operations Course as well as the Joint Firepower Course. She has written How the Few Became the Proud: The Making of the Marine Corps’ Mythos, 1874-1918 (Naval Institute Press, 2019). Previous published work includes “‘There’s Nothing that a Marine Can’t Do’: Publicity and the Marine Corps, 1905-1917” in New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Sixteenth Naval History Symposium and “The China Marines and the Crucible of the Warrior Mythos, 1900-1941” in Crucibles: Selected Readings in U.S. Marine Corps History. She is also a non-resident fellow at Marine Corps University’s Krulak Center. Her professional service includes service as a managing editor for The Strategy Bridge. Her current research centers on intersections between theory and pre-war thinking and the application of airpower in combat.
Lt Col Kelsi Baker is an instructor and Director of Staff in the Department of Airpower at the Air Command and Staff College. Prior to instructing, she served as the Executive Officer for the LeMay Center Commander and Air University Vice Commander. As a prior missile officer, she completed 4 years at F.E. Warren with the 319th MS and 90th OSS. As an intelligence officer, she has completed assignments at NSA-Texas, 25th AF, AFGSC, and the ISRD at Camp Arifjan. She received her commission from OTS in 2008. Lt Col Baker graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cellular/Molecular Biology in 2007 and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree in 2020.
Dr. Terry Beckenbaugh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Air Power at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He came to ACSC from the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he taught for nine years in the Department of Military History. Dr. Beckenbaugh received his PhD in 19th Century US History from the University of Arkansas, and his Masters and Bachelors in US History and History, respectively, from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. Beckenbaugh has taught at a variety of undergraduate and graduate civilian institutions. He is currently working on a book on the White River Campaign in Arkansas in the spring-summer of 1862, and has numerous publications and conference presentations.
Lt Col John “Garick” Chamberlin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He holds a PhD in History from Purdue University, an MA in National Security Affairs from Naval Postgraduate School, and a BS in Middle East Studies from Excelsior College (USNY). Lt Col Chamberlin has split his Air Force career roughly equally between intelligence and education assignments, having taught at the Defense Language Institute and the US Air Force Academy, and commanded a Student Squadron at Squadron Officers School prior to his assignment to ACSC. In the Intelligence field, he was attached to the RC-135 both as an enlisted aviator and as an intelligence officer, and also served on the 3rd Air Force and US Air Forces in Europe staffs and as the Chief of Wing Intelligence for the 22 ARW at McConnell AFB. Lt Col Chamberlin has over a dozen deployments to the Middle East, as well as one to Kosovo. His research focuses on the diplomatic and military history of the Early American Republic, primarily related to North African affairs.
Lt Col Paulo Costa is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He teaches the Airpower Strategy and Operations and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare courses. Prior to instructing at ACSC, he was a member of ACSC’s AY21 class. Lt Col Paulo Costa is a senior cargo pilot from Brazilian Air Force with more than 3,200 flying hours in several EMBRAER aircraft, from the turbo-prop Tucano to regional jets. Before coming to the United States, he was the Commander of the Special Transport Group’s 1st Squadron, the airlift unit responsible for transporting the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Lt Col Costa attended the Brazilian Air Force Academy, receiving his bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Science and Public Administration. He also holds a Lato Sensu specialization in Institutional Marketing, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science.
Lt Col Hugh Gardenier is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 2002. After commissioning, he worked as a Developmental Engineer on various USAF aircraft, satellite, and cyber acquisition programs. In 2015, Lt Col Gardenier attended ACSC and after graduation served as an instructor in the Department of Airpower and member of the ACSC staff. He was selected for the Advanced Academic Degree program in 2018 and started at Ohio State University for a Military History PhD the following year. Currently, he is working on his dissertation, which examines the impact of USAF General (Retired) Nathan F. Twining on the USAF and U.S. national security strategy during the Eisenhower administration.

Research Interests: Military effectiveness, civilian-military relations, the strategy-making process, and American military history

Lt Col Jeremiah Gilmore is an instructor in the Department of Airpower and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare Deputy Course Director at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Prior to this assignment, Lt Col Gilmore was a Staff Officer at Air Combat Command (ACC) where he worked acquisition and capability development for several emerging Air force Programs. He holds a Master’s in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University as well as a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Georgia and received his commission from ROTC. He has previously served at Offutt AFB where he deployed with the RC-135 to the CENTCOM and INDOPACOM AORs. He has also completed an instructor assignment at the Combat Systems Officer Formal Training Unit in Pensacola Florida. He is a Senior Combat Systems Officer with over 2000 hours in the RC-135 and T-1A aircraft.
Lt Col Robert Lacy is an instructor in the Department of Airpower at the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Lt Col Lacy is a Senior CSO having flown the EC-130H, MC-130H, and MC-130J. He holds a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University as well as a Master of Natural Resource Development from Texas A&M University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2006 and commissioned through ROTC. Prior to this assignment he was assigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing, AETC’s schoolhouse for Special Operations and Personnel Recovery aviation.
Dr. Joshua A. Sipper is an Assistant Professor at the Air Command and Staff College. He completed his Doctoral work at Trident University in September of 2012, earning a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (emphasis, E-Learning Leadership). Dr. Sipper’s previous degrees were obtained from Troy University (M.Ed. Education) and Faulkner University (B.S. English). Dr. Sipper is a veteran who served honorably in the U.S. Air Force in the intelligence career field and worked for Lockheed Martin in a similar capacity on the U-2 program. More recently, Dr. Sipper shifted his focus into the cyber realm for seven years as a Systems Engineer, Chief of Cyber Standardization and Evaluation, and Cyber Exercise Manager for General Dynamics at the Air Force’s 26th Network Operations Squadron, followed by a nine-year stint as a civil servant in the Air Force cyber career field at the Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education. Just prior to his appointment at ACSC, Dr. Sipper was a Professor of Cyberwarfare Studies at the Air Force Cyber College where he designed several cyber courses including Cyber ISR, Cyber EW, and Cyber and Information Warfare Capabilities and Trends. He has numerous publications including his paper titled “The Cyber Microbiome and the Cyber Meta-reality” published at the IARIA Cyber 2020 conference for which he won a “Best Paper Award” and also has a book titled “The Cyber Meta-reality: Beyond the Metaverse, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2022. Dr. Sipper’s research interests include cyber operations, ISR, electromagnetic warfare, and cyber warfare.
Dr. Paul J. Springer is a full professor of comparative military studies. He holds a PhD in military history from Texas A&M University. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including America’s Captives: Treatment of POWs from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror; Military Robots and Drones: A Reference Handbook; Transforming Civil War Prisons: Lincoln, Lieber, and the Laws of War; Cyber Warfare: A Reference Handbook; and Outsourcing War to Machines: The Military Robotics Revolution. In addition, he has published hundreds of shorter pieces, on a variety of subjects including military history, terrorism, strategy, technology, and military robotics. In 2019, he was asked by CSAF General David Goldfein to co-author a book on leadership and command, which will be published by the Air University Press. Dr. Springer is a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the series editor for both the History of Military Aviation and Transforming War series, produced by the U.S. Naval Institute Press. Currently, he is completing three books, including a collective biography of the West Point Class of 1829; a military history textbook (co-authored with ACSC Professor S. Michael Pavelec); and an examination of the post-Civil War creation of higher education institutions in the South. Research Interest/Expertise includes: POW operations; military leadership and command; strategy; military technology; artificial intelligence; cyber warfare; and U.S. military history.
Dr. John Terino is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies at the Air Command and Staff College. At ACSC, he teaches courses on Military Theory, Airpower, Contemporary Warfare, Joint Planning, Joint Air Planning, and an elective on the Air Force in Fact, Fiction, and Film. Prior to teaching at ACSC, he was a professor at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS). While at SAASS, he directed the school’s course on Technology and Military Innovation, courses on Airpower History, and the institution’s wargaming activities. Before coming to Air University, he taught for four years at the Air Force Academy in the Department of History. He retired from the Air Force in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel after serving for almost 23 years. He received his BA, MA, and PhD in the History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently researching a couple of book chapters and editing an airpower anthology book.
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Walters is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower and the Airpower Strategy and Operations Deputy Course Director. Dr. Walters received both her MA and PhD in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She teaches Airpower I, Airpower II, War Theory, and electives on War and Genocide in the Balkans and Combat Motivation. She is currently working on an oral history project exploring Operation Allies Welcome, the military support effort by the United States military for the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans spanning 2021-2022. Her second book project, Hospitality is the Law of the Mountains: The 1999 Kosovo War, argues that Albanians – motivated by the Albanian concept of hospitality – took strangers into their homes and communities and changed the course of the refugee crisis. Their actions bought time for the U.S. military to mobilize, rebuild Albania’s shattered infrastructure, and bring in massive amounts of aid. Previous published work includes “‘Tree Hugging Work’: The Shifting Attitudes and Practices of the U.S. Marine Corps Toward Peace Operations in the 1990s” in Marine Corps History and “A Tantalizing Success: The 1999 Kosovo War” in The Strategy Bridge. Before joining ACSC, Walters was an assistant professor in the History Department at Kansas State University.
Dr. Michael E. Weaver is an associate professor of history in the Department of Air Power. He joined the faculty of ACSC in 2002 after completing his doctorate at Temple University under the tutelage of Russell Weigley. Weaver’s first book was Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II (Indiana University Press, 2010). His second, The Air War in Vietnam (Texas Tech University Press, 2022), came out in print in the Fall of 2022. In The Journal of Aeronautical History, Intelligence and National Security, Air Power History, and Diplomatic History he has published articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis, air intelligence during World War II, aircraft capabilities, and air combat training during the Cold War. Weaver specializes in aviation history, the Cold War, and World War II.  

Research Interest/Expertise: Cold War, History of the Vietnam War, U.S. Military History, Aviation History, World War II, Force & Diplomacy, History of the United States.

Maj Justin Wohlford is an instructor in the Department of Air Power at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He teaches the Air Power Strategy and Operations and the Contemporary and Emerging Warfare courses and the Science Fiction and Strategy elective. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Deputy Chief of Flight Safety, Air Combat Command (ACC) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA. Maj Wohlford is a Senior Pilot with over 2,000 flight hours in the E-8C JSTARS, including over 850 combat hours flown in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, and Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL. Maj Wohlford received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy, He also holds a Master of Arts in Military History from Norwich University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree from ACSC.


Dept. of Warfighting

Department of Joint Warfighting

The Department of Joint Warfighting is made up of civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation's allies.  Faculty within the department are responsible for teaching, research, and service.  The Warfighting department is responsible for two core courses, Joint Air Operations Planning and Joint Warfighting. Joint Warfighting is designed to demonstrate, at the operational level, how the U.S. joint force organizes, deploys, employs, sustains, and redeploys military capabilities in support of national interest in order to prevail in war.

Dr. James D. Campbell is the Chair of the Joint Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College. A retired US Army brigadier general, Dr. Campbell served as an Infantryman and Strategic Plans and Policy Officer for 30 years, with assignments at all levels of command and staff, in both the Regular Army and the National Guard. Most recently he served as the Deputy Chief, Operations Plans Division at US Central Command, and prior to his retirement served as the 39th Adjutant General of Maine with the state cabinet-level position of Commissioner of the Maine Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. Dr. Campbell holds a M.A. in European History and a PhD in British History from the University of Maine. He is a graduate of the CAPSTONE course at the National Defense University, the US Army War College, and was an International Security Studies Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. Campbell has published works on subjects ranging from Homeland Defense, to Irregular Warfare, and 19th and early 20th century British Military History. His current research interests focus on British Imperial military operations and the Army in India.
Lt Col DJ Benzing is an Air University Instructor and Deputy Department Chair in the Joint Warfighting Department.  Lt Col Benzing is a Command Pilot with more than 3500 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating, instructing, and commanding missions in the C-17A in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, as well as Operations in and around the Horn of Africa to include numerous presidential support missions.Lt Col Benzing graduated with a BS in Biology from the Air Force Academy and holds Masters degrees from American Military University and Air University. Prior to this assignment he commanded the 31st Student Squadron, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL.
Dr. Brian R. Price is an Associate Professor in the Department of Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in political science, and holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas in military history. He has conducted research for the POW-MIA Accounting Agency, served as a Social Science SME serving special operations in Afghanistan, and has served a double tour as Senior Social Scientist in RC East, Afghanistan, 2011-12. He worked for ten years in Silicon Valley, rising to the level of Vice President, and ran his own publishing company before taking his doctorate. His research interests focus on the nexus between culture, technology and war, and his current research focuses on the development of post-Vietnam TACAIR, a project for which he has conducted extensive archival research along with oral histories on a number of senior officers. He is published in a number of journals, and has several books in his second field, medieval and early modern warfare. In his spare time he teaches historical swordsmanship and has been inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Mahoney is a Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He has a PhD in History from the George Washington University, a MS in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University (NDU), a MS in Management from Webster University, and a BS in Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to arriving at ACSC, Dr. Mahoney was the Dean of the Marine Corps War College and an Assistant Professor at the Eisenhower School at NDU. His book, The Mayaguez Incident, was published by Texas Tech Press. He is a retired USAF Colonel with over 27 years of service, commanded a KC-135 flying squadron, was on the AMC and CJCS staff, and was a command pilot with over 3500 hours in the T-37, T-38 and KC-135. His research interests include the US Constitution, Joint Warfighting, Joint Planning, Operational Design, Leadership, US Air Force History, Vietnam War era, WW II, Revolutionary War, and Civil War.
Lt Col Andrew Jasso is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. Lieutenant Colonel Jasso is a 1998 graduate of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he received a BS in Criminal Justice and a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College in 2009. He has commanded an Infantry Company and Headquarters company, commanded a Basic Training Battalion, and has held staff positions as Chief of Plans at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California and US Army Central Command (USARCENT) as a J35 planner for CJTF Operation Inherent Resolve. His most recent assignment was as the Chief of Movement and Maneuver for Operations Group Charlie at the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Dr. Bradley F. Podliska is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He has a Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations major) from Texas A&M University, a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. (with honors) in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Podliska is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School. Prior to arriving at ACSC, Dr. Podliska worked as an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense and as an investigator for the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi. His publications include a book, Acting Alone: A Scientific Study on American Hegemony and Unilateral Use-of-Force Decision Making (Lexington Books) as well as a book chapter and articles and on national security, military operations, and American institutions. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force Reserves, serving as an intelligence officer with US Joint Forces Command and US European Command.
Maj Kaylee Bazzell is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. As an AF Intelligence Officer, she has served in support of multiple AF platforms both operationally and for test. She is a qualified instructor and security specialist with experience in electronic warfare. She has served as a National Security Agency liaison and has deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as an Air Advisor. Maj Bazzell received a Bachelor of Science in Humanities from the United States Air Force Academy in 2008 and has a Masters in Strategic Communications from National University as well as a Masters from Air Command and Staff College. Her most recent assignment was as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the 53rd Wing, Eglin AFB, Fl.
Major Brian Carpenter is an Air University Instructor in the Joint Warfighting Department.  Major Carpenter is a Senior Navigator with more than 2000 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating and instructing in the MC-130J, MC-130H, and C-130H in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and numerous contingency deployments in the European and Pacific theaters. Major Carpenter graduated with a BA in History from the University of Oklahoma and holds a Masters degrees from American Military University and Air University. Prior to this assignment he was an Assistant Operations Officer, 67th Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, UK.
Maj Adam Pohl is an instructor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College.  Maj Pohl is a career intelligence officer with experience supporting mobility operations, intelligence exploitation and dissemination missions, and space operations.  He has deployed three times to the Middle East supporting the fielding of new intelligence aircraft, space effects integration, and as a combat air advisor to the Iraqi Air Force.  Maj Pohl has led intelligence missions at the squadron, numbered air force and combatant command levels.  He graduated with a BA in Political Science from the University of Iowa in 2008 and holds a MA from Air University.  Prior to this assignment, Maj Pohl was the executive officer to the Director of Intelligence, United States Space Command, Schriever AFB, CO.
Dr. Jon Hendrickson is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Joint Warfighting Department. After being awarded a Tyng Scholarship to Williams College, he earned his PhD in military history from The Ohio State University, where he was awarded a Mershon Center Fellowship to conduct research in Vienna, Rome, Paris, and London. This research led to the publication of Crisis in the Mediterranean, a book on the shifting alliances and naval races in the Mediterranean before World War I. After graduating from Ohio State, he was awarded the Class of 1957 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Naval History at the US Naval Academy, and taught at Coastal Carolina University. He has published and presented several papers on naval and military history, ancient history, and diplomatic history.
LTC Walter L. Ivory Jr. is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a 2005 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans where he received a BS in Business Administration. He also has an MBA from Trident University International. LTC Ivory completed US Army Command and General Staff College in 2016. An Army Logistics Officer, he has served in multiple command and staff assignments from the Tactical to Strategic echelons. He has deployed three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation New Dawn. In his most recent assignment was as the Executive Officer for the Headquarters Department of the Army, Deputy G-4 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Major Karan Bansal is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College.  Major Bansal is a Senior Pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours. His operational experience includes evaluating, instructing, and commanding missions in the MC-12, C-130H and the KC-135R in support of numerous military missions around the world. Major Bansal graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Academy and holds a master’s degree in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air University. His most recent assignment was as the Wing Weapons Officer at the 92d Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild AFB, WA.
Dr. Robert M. Kerr is an Associate Professor in the Joint Warfighting Department. He also previously served as Course Director for International Security 2: The Use of Armed Force. He holds a PhD in Political Geography from the University of Oregon, and an MA in Geosciences from the University of South Carolina. His BA is in History with an emphasis on the Islamic World from Grand Valley State University. In addition to teaching at ACSC, Dr. Kerr has worked at the Air Force Culture and Language Center, and taught courses at the US Air Force Special Operations School, the Senior NCO Academy, and the Air Advisor Academy. In 2008-2009 he spent 15 months in NE Baghdad with the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division as an embedded political/cultural advisor.
Lt Col Bradley J. Pogue is an Instructor and Academic Advisor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. Within ACSC he previously served as Associate Dean of Education Operations and as the Department of Joint Warfighting’s Director of Staff. Lt Col Pogue is a USAF Force Support Officer with Space Operations experience. His space operations experience is in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and satellite command and control. He was commissioned in 2004 after receiving his B.A. in History from Berry College, and he subsequently earned a M.A. in Government/International Politics from Regent University in 2009. Lt Col Pogue is an ACSC in-residence graduate, where he earned a Master of Military Operational Art and Science in 2016.  Prior to his arrival at ACSC, he was the Director of Operations for the National Reconnaissance Office Space Operations Squadron located in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Lt Col Tyronda “Ty” Kelly is a Joint Warfighting Instructor at Air Command and Staff College, responsible for training 500+ operational and air-minded officers and interagency professionals per year.  Ty is a 2008 Kent State University graduate where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master of Architecture and Environmental Design degrees.  She also holds an additional Master’s degree in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.  Ty has served at the tactical and operational levels as a Civil Engineer (CE) Operations Flight Commander x2, Squadron Section Commander, HQ USAFE-AFAFRICA A4 Operational Planner and CE Functional Area Manager, and USAFCENT Air Advisor.  Additionally, she has completed USCENTCOM deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, and Resolute Support.  Prior to her current assignment, she served as an Officer Training School Instructor with the 217th Training Squadron at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, responsible for educating, training, and commissioning 2.4K officers of character per year.
Lt Col Thomas A. Smicklas is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Smicklas is a 1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he received a BS in Hospital Administration. He also has a MBA from the University of Maryland and a MS in Military Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College. A space and missile operator and financial manager, he has served in a variety of operational assignments to include squadron command and deployed to Amman, Jordan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He served two staff tours at Air Force Space Command and most recently served as a Course Director in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies and Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security Center of Innovation at the US Air Force Academy.
Mr. Brent Lawniczak is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC).  A retired Marine aviator (UH-1N/UC-12), he has served in multiple theaters in various capacities. He served as the Senior Marine Corps Advisor to the Commandant of ACSC from 2008-2012. Additionally, Brent was qualified as a Command Pilot, Forward Air Controller (Airborne) (FAC(A)), Forward Air Controller (FAC)/Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), and Weapons and Tactics Instructor. His interests and expertise include Joint planning, operational design, joint fires, maritime and amphibious operations, aviation operations, policy formulation, American politics, and international relations.
Dr. Christopher Weimar is an Assistant Professor of National Security Studies in the Joint Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He holds an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a M.A. in International Relations from Boston University, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Fordham University. Prior to his arrival at ACSC, Dr. Weimar has taught in various public college and university political science programs. A retired US Air Force Colonel, Dr. Weimar served in both Active and Reserve status in Communications-Information Systems Management, Cyberspace Operations, and Logistics Readiness. He has served at all levels from flight to Combatant Command, and has deployed to the African theater, Kuwait, and Iraq. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Director of Logistics and Engineering at North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. He is a graduate of both ACSC and AWC by correspondence and completed the Joint and Combined Warfighting School-Hybrid Program.
Dr. Joe Osborne is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is also a retired Army Special Forces Colonel who has served in Command and Staff positions at every level. His culminating assignment was as the J3, Director of Operations, at Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) where he also served as the J5, Director of Plans, Policy and Strategy. He has a PhD in International Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University and a Master’s in National Security Affairs from the Naval Post Graduate School. He holds a Bachelor’s in Criminology from Florida State University where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He was also the Distinguished Officer Graduate from the Special Forces Qualification Course. His recent publications include an examination of the 2014 Syria Train and Equip initiative, an examination of early counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, and a case study on the Rojava Kurds and the Battle of Kobani. His military assignments have included operations and deployments throughout Africa, South and Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. He served as a Special Forces Operational Detachment - Alpha Commander and Company Commander in 1st Special Forces Group and as a Company Commander, Battalion S3 and Deputy Group Commander in the 3d Special Forces Group.
Commander Chris Bradshaw serves as a course instructor in the Department of Joint Warfighting. He holds a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master’s in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He has deployed to the Arabian Gulf and the Somali Basin as an anti-submarine/anti-surface-ship helicopter pilot and to the western Pacific as Officer-in-Charge of a helicopter detachment. His shore assignments include working as an Operational Planning Team Leader for US Naval Forces Europe and as Future Plans Center Director for US Naval Forces Central Command. His personal decorations include the 2 awards of the Air Medal for operations against Somali pirates.
LTC La Fran Marks is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. He is a 1998 graduate of Miles College where he received a BS in Political Science. LTC Marks is a graduate of both the US Army Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College. He holds Master Degrees in Public Administration (Troy University) and Strategic Studies (Army War College). LTC Marks has commanded a Personnel Service Detachment, two Infantry Companies, and an Infantry Battalion. He has served at the tactical, operational, and strategic level. His former Staff Officer positions include: Joint Planner, Executive Officer, Career Manager, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Deputy J3. His most recent assignment was as the Deputy Commander for the 199th Infantry Brigade, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Dr. Christopher M. Stamper is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. A retired U.S. Navy Commander, he has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Oceanography from the United States Naval Academy, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from Capella University, specializing in East African Affairs. He has been a flight instructor and taught at the US Naval Academy and the Air War College.
Dr. Ann Mezzell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Georgia as well as an MA from the same field from the University of Alabama. Her fields of concentration include international relations and comparative politics. In addition to teaching core curriculum, she is an instructor for electives covering the topics of state fragility and peacekeeping operations. Her research interests center on American foreign policy, human security, and military strategy. Her recent publications appear in Strategic Studies Quarterly and Parameters.


Dept. of Leadership

Department of Leadership

The Department of Leader and Research Development (DEL) organizes and executes the “Leadership and the Profession of Arms” and “Leadership in Command” core courses as well as the ACSC electives program.  In the Leadership courses students have the opportunity to hone their personal leadership philosophies, better understand the complexities of leading people and organizations, and prepare for future command and staff responsibilities.  The department also conducts the ACSC Faculty Research Focal Program which provides the necessary time for faculty members to complete long-term research projects nearing publication.  Finally, the department promotes student and faculty research within the journal and publishing house community to bring the research to publication and to advance fields of study.

Dr. Lisa L. Beckenbaugh is the Chair of the Leader and Research Development Department at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Dr. Beckenbaugh received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State University and her PhD from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Beckenbaugh has taught at a variety of undergraduate and graduate civilian institutions. Her book, The Versailles Treaty: A Documentary and Reference Guide for ABC-CLIO, was published in 2018. Dr. Beckenbaugh also serves as the faculty advisor for the Gathering of Eagles elective and has edited five of their published books, most recently, Why We Stay: Stories of Unity and Perseverance. Dr. Beckenbaugh’s current research is on the 1st MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), later redesignated 8209th MASH, during the Korean War.
Lt Col Dan “Outlaw” McGuire is in the first year as an SDE Fellow (ACSC Instructor) with duties as the Deputy Department Chair for Leader and Research Development.  In this role, he teaches the Leadership and the Profession of Arms and the Leadership in Command courses.  Lt Col McGuire also assists in the Logistics and the Use of Military Force elective.  He received his bachelors degree in pyschology from Miami University of Ohio (2004), a masters degree in transportation management from the Air Force Institute of Technology (2018), and a master's degree in strategic foresight (2011) and Doctorate of Strategic Leadership (2016) from Regent University.  Prior to this assignment, Lt Col McGuire was the squadron commander for the 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Luke Air Force Base where he was responsible for 380 Airmen sustaining all materiel management, vehicle management, fuel management, deployment and distribution for the largest Fighter Wing in the world.  He is a career logistician with assignments in ACC, GSC, AFMC, AETC and deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and the Pacific.
Lt Col Jerry ‘Giant’ Chua is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). An Air Warfare Officer from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deployed under the Military Personnel Exchange Program, Lt Col Chua is a qualified instructor on multiple ground-based air defense systems and sensor platforms. He completed the ACSC In-Residence program in May 2022 as a Distinguished Graduate. Prior to ACSC, Lt Col Chua held operational and staff positions at various echelons from squadron to HQ RSAF, including capability development officer and chief trainer. Most recently, he served as a career manager in the Air Manpower Department. Lt Col Chua holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Banking and Financial Services) from Nanyang Technological University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.
Dr. Amber B. Batura is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Leader and Research Development. She currently serves as deputy course director for the Leadership and the Profession of Arms Course. She teaches courses in Leadership, Airpower, and International Security as well as offering the War and Gender elective. Dr. Batura advises the Commandant Speaker Series and serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for ACSC and participates in various committees at ACSC and AU. Prior to joining ACSC in March 2021, she was an instructor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She also taught online courses for Texas Tech Costa Rica and the University of Texas Permian Basin. Dr. Batura graduated with her Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech University in 2018. Her specialization looks at the intersection between war and culture and war and society, with a special focus on gender and the military. She has published articles in The New York Times, the Journal of American-East Asian Relations, and has contributed to edited volumes on the Vietnam War. She is currently working on a manuscript on the importance of Playboy magazine to soldiers in the Vietnam War.
Lt Col Andy “SNAP” Meyrahn is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development. Lt Col Meyrahn is a graduate of the Joint All Domain Strategist (JADS) concentration while attending In-Residence Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Prior to attending ACSC, Lt Col Meyrahn served as division chief for information and cyber test operations at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 5 at Edwards AFB, CA. Lt Col Meyrahn is a senior combat systems officer (K12B) with over 2,000 hours in the B-52H, T-1A, T-6, and C-12. Lt Col Meyrahn received a B.A. in geographic information systems from California State University, San Bernardino, CA (2008), a M.A. in human services with executive leadership focus from Liberty University online (2014), a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL (2021), and is currently working on a Doctorate of Strategic Leadership from Liberty University online.
Dr. Daniel A. Connelly serves in the Department of Leadership at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He is a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer whose background includes operational tours at headquarters and flying unit echelons and deployments to Southwest and Far East Asia. He has taught courses in International Security, Leadership Studies, Air Power Theory, the Just War Tradition, Russian Studies and Educational Methodology. He holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Auburn University, and master’s degrees in strategic intelligence and Russian culture with a concentration in international security. He has published on topics ranging from leadership theory to higher education to former Soviet Union affairs and has participated in multiple empirical investigations related to these topics. He has served as an adjunct professor on ethics at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College for several years. He is currently working on a book on international relations theory. Previously, Dan served as Dean of Academic Affairs at Squadron Officer College.
Lt Col Cortesio is married to Sarah and together they have two sons: Bryant and Elijah. Drew is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He holds an Associate of Arts degree, a bachelor’s degree in management and organizations, a master’s degree in operations management, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science.  He is a 64P mission-focused business leader in the USAF who has served in various leadership roles in stateside and contingency operations.
Lt Col Ericka Hernandez is the deputy course director for Leadership in Command in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College.  Lt Col Hernandez leads courses on Leadership and the Profession of Arms. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology (2003), her master’s degree in business administration (2007), and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University (2014). Prior to this assignment, Lt Col Hernandez was the chief of officer development at HAF/A1D where she oversaw the officer IDE and SDE portfolio.  Her command experience includes the 316th Force Support Squadron, Joint Base Andrews where she was responsible for over 700 Airmen in full spectrum support to over 55 thousand personnel in the National Capital Region and the 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, Ali Al Salem, Kuwait where she was responsible for 435 personnel in support of INHERENT RESOLVE.  She is a career force support officer with assignments in ACC, AFMC, AETC, USAFE, PACAF, AFDW, HQ/AF and has deployed to Cuba, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Dr. Paul Johstono is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is currently the course director for Leadership and the Profession of Arms. He teaches courses on Leadership and Ethics, Military Theory, and Airpower. He teaches or has taught elective courses on the Great Captains of military history, Roman Great Power Competition, and the Vietnam War. He regularly leads walking tours and staff rides on leadership, strategy, and social innovation in the Montgomery Civil Rights Movement. He is the ACSC representative to the SACS QEP, a member of the AU Ethics Working Group, and works on several ACSC and AU committees. Prior to joining ACSC in January 2019, he was Associate Professor for History of Warfare at The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. Dr. Johstono received his bachelor’s degree in history from Furman University in Greenville, SC (2005) and his master’s degree (2008) and Ph.D. (2012) in history from Duke University. He specializes in warfare and military institutions in the Hellenistic era, approximately from Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar. He has published numerous articles and chapters on subjects ranging from ancient insurgency to battlefield investigation to demography and ethnography. His first book, on the Army of Ptolemaic Egypt, was published at the end of 2020. He is on the editorial board for the Brill series on War in World History. He is currently completing projects on ethics and diversity, ancient leadership and strategy, ancient cases of military adaptation and resiliency, and a systems theory analysis of ancient great powers.
Lt Col Colonel Joseph “Winters” Ladymon is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government and history (dual majors) from the College of William and Mary, a master's degree in national security studies from American Military University, and a master's degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma. Lt Col Ladymon also attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Ladymon commanded the 314 Training Squadron at the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center, Presidio of Monterey, where he led 750 personnel at two geographically separated units undergoing language training for USAF missions worldwide. Lt Col Ladymon is a career intelligence professional and targeting analyst, weapons school graduate and instructor, and has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn.
Maj Adam Love is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development. Major Love is a graduate of ACSC with a leadership specialization. Major Love holds a bachelor's degree in Meteorology from Ohio University, a Master of Business Administration from National American University, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. Prior to attending ACSC, Major Love was the combat weather detachment commander at Fort Carson, Colorado where he led 37 personnel in support of the 4th Infantry Division. Major Love is a career weather officer with operational assignments in EUCOM, ACC, and CENTCOM, and deployments to Jordan and the UAE.
Dr. Sebastian Lukasik is Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development at Air Command and Staff College, where he serves as director of the ACSC In-Residence Electives Program. He holds a Ph.D. in military history from Duke University. His research and teaching interests include combat motivation, the history and theory of airpower, and military culture. He is currently completing a book manuscript on the emergence of combined-arms warfare in the First World War and its implications for soldiers’ experience of and responses to the stresses of modern combat.
Lt Col Eric Peterson is the course director for Leadership in Command in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University's Air Command and Staff College. He instructs both Leadership in Command and Leadership and the Profession of Arms courses. He has a bachelor's degree in computer science from the United States Air Force Academy and three master’s degrees: theology from Liberty University, operational art and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), and strategic studies from Air University. He has a diverse military background, including two tours in Air Mobility Command as a C-17A pilot and two tours in Air Education and Training Command. He served as an Air Power strategist at Headquarters Air Force, developing the Air Force’s long-term strategy. Prior to attending Air War College and transitioning to Air Command and Staff College, Lt Col Peterson was squadron commander of the 99th Flying Training Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
Lt Col Scott Smith is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He teaches Leadership and the Profession of Arms and Leadership in Command courses. He holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Baylor University, a master’s degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Smith commanded the AETC Computer Systems Squadron where he led 70 members in ensuring communications to the command’s 12 bases, developing, maintaining and operating AETC mission systems, guiding policy and implementation of the command’s spectrum management, and providing executive communication support to AETC HQ staff. Lt Col Smith is a 17D warfighter communications officer with operational assignments in AMC, AFSPC, ACC, and AETC, and staff assignments at the NAF and MAJCOM levels.
Chaplain, Lt Col Richard “Rick” Steen is an instructor in the Department of Leader and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC (1998), a Master of Divinity from The Master’s University and Seminary in Sun Valley, CA (2003), a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University (2019), and he is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry in Leadership from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to attending ACSC, Lt Col Steen served 14 years as a staff chaplain and wing chaplain at the 134th Air Refueling Wing (TN ANG) in Knoxville, Tennessee. He currently serves as the wing chaplain for the 187th Fighter Wing (AL ANG) in Montgomery.
Lt Col Matt “Indy” Ziemann is an instructor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College.  He teaches Leadership and the Profession of Arms, Leadership in Command, Airpower Strategy and Operations, and is the military advisor for the Gathering of Eagles.  He is a career intelligence officer and political-military affairs strategist with a background primarily in special operations.  He is an instructor/evaluator senior airborne ISR Operator with over 1200 flight hours in a variety of special operations aircraft including over 850 combat hours flown in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation NEW DAWN.  He is also a civilian pilot owning an RV-4 for the past 17 years and flying WWII warbirds for the Commemorative Air Force.  Lt Col Ziemann commanded the 392d Intelligence Squadron and served as military deputy director of Air University’s Commanders’ Professional Development School running O-6 pre-command training prior to his arrival on ACSC faculty.  He received his Bachelor of Science in management from the US Air Force Academy and holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in strategic leadership from Trident University and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University.


Dept. of Research

Department of Research

The Department of Research and Electives facilitates faculty and student research, electives, and publications. The department organizes and executes the ACSC electives program which in AY20 offered over 140 courses taught by over 80 faculty members. The department also conducts the ACSC Faculty Research Focal Program which provides the necessary time for faculty members to complete long-term research projects nearing publication. Finally, the department promotes student and faculty research within the journal and publishing house community to bring the research to publication and to advance fields of study.

Dr. Paul J. Springer

Dr. Paul J. Springer is a Professor of Comparative Military Studies and the Chair of the Department of Research at ACSC. He holds a PhD in history from Texas A&M University; an MA in history from the University of Northern Iowa; and a BS in Psychology from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining the ACSC faculty, he taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Texas A&M University. He teaches courses on War Theory, Leadership, Airpower, Strategy, Military History, Military Command, and Terrorism. He is the author or editor of 12 books in print, with another 4 in progress and scheduled for publication in 2020. His most prominent works include America’s Captives: Treatment of POWs from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror and Outsourcing War to Machines: The Military Robotic Revolution. He is a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the series editor for the History of Military Aviation and Transforming War series, both with the U.S. Naval Institute Press.

Dr. Lisa L. Beckenbaugh  

Dr. Lisa L. Beckenbaugh is the Research Department Deputy Chair and Electives Course Director at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Dr. Beckenbaugh received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State University and her PhD from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Beckenbaugh has taught at a variety of undergraduate and graduate civilian institutions. Last year her book, The Versailles Treaty: A Documentary and Reference Guide for ABC-CLIO, was published. Dr. Beckenbuagh also serves as the faculty advisor for the Gathering of Eagles elective and has edited three of their recently published books, Leading Airpower into the 21st Century: Stories of Courage, Innovation, and Resiliency, Spirit of the Storm: A Collection of Interviews from the Gulf War Era, and Soaring Above: Stories of Leadership, Heroism, and Overcoming Adversity. Dr. Beckenbaugh’s current research is on the 1st MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), later redesignated 8209th MASH, during the Korean War.

Research Interest/Expertise: Oral History, American POWs, World War II, Women in Combat, Battlefield Medicine, and MASH Units in the Korean War.

Lt Col Steven Quillman  

Lt Col Steven Quillman is an Instructor of Joint Warfare, Director of Staff for the Department of Research and Deputy Director of Electives at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC).  Lt Col Quillman graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Touro University International.  Lt Col Quillman has published multiple entries in Conflict in the Middle East: An Encyclopedia of Civil War, Revolutions and Regime Change (ABC-CLIO, 2020), The Encyclopedia of Cyber Warfare (ABC-CLIO, 2017), and Russia at War (ABC-CLIO, 2015).  Lt Col Quillman co-teaches a course on irregular warfare from 1830 to the present.  Lt Col Quillman previous experiences include propulsion engineer with the C-17, C-130J, and F-22A, weapons integration engineer with the F-16, Education with Industry tour with National Institute of Aerospace, aircraft battle damage assessor for Joint Combat Assessment Team, and as a program manager with AOC System Program Office.                      

Research Interest/Expertise: World War Two Airpower; Combined Bomber Offensive; 305th Bomb Group; Irregular Warfare; Office of Special Operations in SE Asia;  Special Operations in Rhodesia; and  Native American campaigns.         

Dr. Brent D. Ziarnick  

Dr. Brent D. Ziarnick is an Assistant Professor of National Security Studies at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.  Dr. Ziarnick is a command space operations officer in the Air Force Reserve with extensive experience in Global Positioning System (GPS), space-based space domain awareness, offensive space control, and theater space command and control operations.  In civilian life he was a launch operations engineer at Spaceport America, New Mexico where he developed the long-range plan for the world’s first purpose-built inland commercial spaceport’s vertical launch activity.  He holds doctorates in economic development from New Mexico State University and military strategy from Air Univeristy, a master’s degree in space systems engineering from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a bachelor’s degree in space operations from the United States Air Force Academy, and is a graduate of both the Air Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Dr. Ziarnick is the author of two books and multiple articles on space power theory and strategy.

 

Dr Jonathan K. Zartman   Dr. Jonathan K. Zartman is an associate professor of international security studies in the Department of Research at Air Command and Staff College. He received his Ph. D. in 2004 from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies. He taught at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages in Samarkand, Uzbekistan as a Fulbright Fellow (2005-2006). He has also received a David L. Boren Fellowship for language study and research in Dushanbe, Tajikistan at the Technological University of Tajikistan (2000-2001). He has taught at the University of Northern Colorado, and Metropolitan State College of Denver. He teaches the International Security Studies-1 & 2 in the core curriculum, and electives on the Modern Middle East, Resisting Iranian Aggression, and the Politics of Islamic Struggle. He is the editor of Conflict in the Modern Middle East: An Encyclopedia of War, Revolution and Regime Change. He has also written “Using Historical Islamic Sources to Promote Ethical Character.” Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 8, No. 2 (Fall 2018); “Negotiation, Exclusion and Durable Peace” International Negotiation 13 (2008); and "Transition and Vulnerability Management in Uzbekistan" Journal of Central Asian Studies III, No.2. (1999). He is editing a book of Tajik history titled Two Tajik Heroes by Saddridin Aini. The main focus of his work promotes understanding of indigenous cultural identity in the service of building peace.


Dept. of Joint Education

Department of Joint Education

Joint All Domain Strategist was formerly Multi Domain Operational Strategist (MDOS) is an AETC award winning program for innovation in multi domain operations and joint warfighting.  It is a year-long, advanced level course focusing on developing future leaders who understand how to employ multi domain operational maneuver to counter emerging threats.  This concentration prepares selected students for operational and command assignments requiring cutting-edge knowledge of planning and operations. Students study and apply strategic and operational design, the joint operations planning process, reflexive control, decision making theory, and risk analysis.  Additionally, students participate in exercises and wargames with German and Polish War Colleges, as well as the Doolittle Wargame Series.  Post-graduation approximately 40% of MDOS students attend SAASS, SAMS or SAW, 10% are selected for command, and 50% receive operational-level assignments.

Dr. Jeffery M. Reilly, LTC, USA (Retired) is the Chairman of the Department of Joint Education at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and Director of the Multi Domain Operational Strategist Concentration. Dr. Reilly is a retired Army officer with 26 years of active-duty service. He began his service as a draftee and served 28 consecutive months in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. His theater-level planning and operations experience includes serving as a theater level combined and joint operations officer, plans division chief, and member of the Secretary of Defense’s “two major theater war” plans team. Dr. Reilly received his MA from the University of Houston and his PhD from the University of Alabama. He is an adjunct faculty member for the NATO School’s Operational Planning Course, a speaker at the USAF Weapons Instructor Course, and a member of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Military Education Coordination Council Working Group. Dr. Reilly has also given a number of presentations at international defense colleges including: the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, in Hamburg, Germany, the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Ethiopian Defense Staff College in Addis Ababa and the Polish National Defense University in Warsaw. Additionally, he conducted research on design in Afghanistan during 2010, 2011, and 2012 and on the future of C4ISR in Iraq and Africa during 2016. He is the author of Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive Action. His most recent article What’s After Joint? concerning multi domain operations was published in the March 2016 edition of the Air and Space Power Journal. In 2018, he won the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) award for innovation in multi domain and joint warfighting abilities.

Research Interest/Expertise: Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Operational Design, C4ISR, Operational Planning, International Relations, Irregular Warfare, Future Security Threats.

Budd A. Jones is an Assistant Professor and Course Director for the Multi Domain Operational Strategist concentration at the Air Command and Staff College. He received his M.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1986. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in the history of technology at Auburn University. While on active duty in the Air Force he flew fighter aircraft and worked as an operational level air and joint planner. He also served as the Director of Military History at the Air Force Academy. Following his retirement he joined the ACSC faculty in 1996 and has taught courses on military theory, airpower history, international relations and security studies and operational air and joint planning. His research interests include the development of night fighting technology and its impact on training and operations.

Research Interest/Expertise: Multi Domain Operations, Strategic Design, Military Theory, Clausewitz Studies.


Dept. of Spacepower

Department of Spacepower

The Department of Spacepower is home of the Schriever Space Scholars program, a rigorous year-long immersion for developing space strategists. The program is the nation’s first space-centric military developmental education opportunity for interagency, international and joint military members as well as future U.S. Space Force leaders. The department’s purpose is threefold: to build a core of skilled space domain strategists who will serve as key leaders, advocates and advisors to warfighting commanders and national leadership; explore the operational implications of space as a warfighting domain; and serve as a mechanism to infuse the best of operational and strategic space thought into the core Air Command and Staff College curriculum and across Air University. As part of their studies, Schriever Space Scholars participate in space war games, meet with senior leaders and experts throughout the U.S. national space enterprise, and produce a personal research capstone project to present to U.S. Space Force leaders at the culmination of their studies.

Dr. Andrea Harrington currently serves as the Dean of Space Education at Air University. Prior to her current role, she served as Chair of the Department of Spacepower and Director of the Schriever Space Scholars concentration at Air Command and Staff College, where she is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies. Dr. Harrington previously served on the faculty of the University of Mississippi School of Law as the Associate Director of the LLM Program in Air and Space Law. She has also served as Associate Chair for the Policy, Economics, and Law Department of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program.  Dr. Harrington was an Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellow in Space Governance at the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL), where her doctoral research focused on insurance and liability issues for the commercial space industry. Dr. Harrington holds a DCL and LLM in Air and Space Law from the McGill IASL, as well as a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law, an MSc in European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics, and a BA in International Relations and History from Boston University. She is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts. Dr. Harrington serves as a member of the editorial board for the McGill Annals of Air and Space Law, New Space Journal, the Space Force Journal, and the American Bar Association publication The Air and Space Lawyer.  She is the author of the book “Space Insurance and the Law: Maximizing Private Activities in Outer Space” and numerous articles and book chapters, primarily focused on space law and policy.

Research Interest/Expertise: Space Law and Policy, International Law, International Relations, Treaty Interpretation, Aviation Law, Science Fiction

Dr. Gregory Miller is Chair of the Department of Spacepower and Director of the Schriever Space Scholars program at the Air Command and Staff College. Before joining ACSC, he was Chair of the Strategy Department at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School. Prior to that he held faculty positions at the College of William & Mary, the University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University.  Dr. Miller received Bachelor’s Degrees in Political Science and History from the University of California, Los Angeles (1996), a Master’s Degree in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University (1998), and a Master’s Degree (2000) and Ph.D. (2004) in Political Science from The Ohio State University.  His 2012 book, The Shadow of the Past: Reputation and Military Alliances before the First World War, is part of Cornell University Press’ Security Affairs series. His scholarship also appears in more than a dozen journals, including recent space-related articles in Space Policy, Air and Space Power Journal, The Space Review, and The Strategy Bridge.  He also has an article forthcoming in Astropolitics and a book manuscript under contract with Naval Institute Press titled Sun Tzu in Space: What International Relations, History, and Science Fiction Tell Us about Our Future.

Research Interest/Expertise: International relations theory and international security (especially reputation and military alliances), terrorism and political violence, strategy formulation and evaluation, the application of international relations and political violence concepts to spacepower theory.

Dr. Everett Carl Dolman is Professor of Comparative Military Studies at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. His focus is on international relations and theory, and he has been identified as Air University’s first space theorist. Dr. Dolman began his career as an intelligence analyst for the National Security Agency, and moved to the United States Space Command in 1986. In 1991, he received the Director of Central Intelligence’s Outstanding Intelligence Analyst award. Dr. Dolman received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. He then taught international relations and international political economy at The College of William & Mary, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Berry College before taking his current position at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. Dr. Dolman received the Air Force’s Educator of the Year Award for 2003/04. His published works include Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age (2002); The Warrior State: How Military Organization Structures Politics (2004), Pure Strategy: Power and Principle in the Information Age (2005), and Can Science End War? (2015). He has written numerous book chapters as well as articles for the Journal of Strategic Studies, Comparative Strategy, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Journal of Small Wars and Insurgencies, Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, Citizenship Studies, Politics and Society, Journal of Political and Military Sociology, and The Air and Space Power Review. Dr. Dolman is also co-founder and editor emeritus of Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Power and Policy and editor of Routledge’s Space Power and Politics book series.

Research Interest/Expertise: Military Strategy, Space and Cyber Power, Civil-Military Relations, Intelligence, Military Theory and Philosophy.

Major Jiemin Hou is an Air University Fellow and Instructor in the Department of Spacepower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is a graduate of ACSC and the Schriever Space Scholars in AY21. Maj Hou previously served as a Joint Staff J2 targeting officer in the Pentagon. He also served as Flight Commander, 20th Intel Squadron, Offutt, Nebraska. His other assignments include 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home, Idaho, and ROTC Instructor at the University of Maryland. He also deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. Major Houreceived his BS and MS degrees in molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of Connecticut. He also graduated with a BA in government and politics from the University of Maryland, a MA in intelligence studies from the American Military University, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Kenan-Flagler Business School. Major Hou is a Language Enabled Airman (LEAP) in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.

Research Interest/Expertise: Military strategy and operation, spacepower, business strategy and management, finance and accounting, data analytics, and modeling.

Dr Kun-Chin Lin is Professor of Military and Security Studies at the Department of Spacepower at the Air Command and Staff College. He was a University Lecturer in Politics and Tun Suffian College Lecturer and Fellow at the Gonville & Caius College, and directed the Centre for Rising Powers and the Centre on Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. Dr Lin received his PhD in Political Science from UC Berkeley, was a Leverhulme postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, and taught at King’s College London and the National University of Singapore. His principal interests are the political economy of China as a rising power and its implications for the global order, and has published extensively on maritime powers in Asia, Chinese energy and transport infrastructure policies, and Asian regionalism and global governance, including articles in Energy Policy, Marine Policy, Transport Research Part A and Part D, Transport Policy, Asian Survey, China Journal, Pacific Focus, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Political Studies Review, Enterprise & Society, and Business & Politics. His research has been supported by the British Academy, Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, and Korea Foundation, etc. He is an editorial board member of Business and Politics, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, and Maritime Policy & Management, and was an associate fellow of the Chatham House in London.

Research Interest/Expertise: Space and maritime power, geoeconomics, international relations, state capitalism, China, Indo-Pacific

Captain Matthew Nedved is the Director of Operations of the Schriever Space Scholars, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He is a Space Operations officer who has previous experience at the squadron and group levels operating, training, and evaluating officer and enlisted Military Satellite Communications operators. His prior assignments include Extremely High Frequency Satellite Systems Officer, Chief of Training for Mobile Operations and Crew Commander while in the 4th Space Operations Squadron, as well as Staff Evaluator and Standardizations Branch Chief for the 50th Operations Group. Captain Nedved graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota State University. 

Research Interest/Expertise: Military Satellite Communications, Mobile Space Operations and the United States Space Force.

Dr. Jim Powell teaches Schriever Space Scholars as Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Air Command and Staff College’s Department of Spacepower. A retired U.S. Army colonel and strategic planner, he has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and has served in the Pentagon as speechwriter for the U.S. Army chief of staff and as military advisor to the director of net assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. His previous teaching experience includes postings at the U.S. Army War College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, as well as the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Dr. Powell holds a Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University. He has published Learning under Fire: The 112th Cavalry Regiment in World War II and served as a principal author of the U.S. Army’s two-volume study on the Iraq War.

Research Interest/Expertise: World War II’s Pacific theater, strategic appraisal and net assessment, learning and adaptation in military organizations, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Iraq War (2003-2011).

Dr. M.V. “Coyote” Smith, Colonel, USAF (Retired) is an associate professor in the Schriever Scholars program at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College.  He retired from active duty in August 2016 as a command space operations officer serving as a professor of strategic space studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  He has served in various flying, space, and missile assignments and as an instructor at the USAF Weapons School.  During Operation Allied Force (Kosovo) he served as a strategist and targeting officer on Lt General Michael Short's staff at the Air Component headquarters at Dal Molin Air Base in Vicenza, Italy.  During Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), he served at USCENTCOM Headquarters as a strategist on General Tommy Frank’s staff.  He later served as the chief air and space power strategist on the Pentagon’s Strategic Planning Council during Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing advice to the Joint Staff and the Secretary of Defense.  He is the author of Ten Propositions Regarding Spacepower, and the article “America Needs a US Space Corps,” which triggered Congressional and Presidential interest in an independent space service.

Research Interest/Expertise:  All things spacepower; independent space service, space deterrence, space warfare, space control, space commerce, space law enforcement, off-Earth settlement, advanced space technologies, future space concepts, and dinosaurs, because space and dinosaurs are cool!

Dr. Samantha A. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Schriever Space Scholars Department of Spacepower at Air Command and Staff College. Dr Taylor joined ACSC in 2021 and teaches War Theory and Joint War Fighting. Before coming to ACSC she started her career in Professional Military Education with a Postdoctoral Fellowship at U.S. Naval War College where she taught Theater National Security Decision Making in 2017. In 2018 she left USNWC and taught as Visiting Professor at US. Army War College in the Department of National Security and Strategy where she taught theories of war, international relations, and national security strategy and policy making. Her Ph.D. is in US diplomatic and military history with an emphasis on the Cold War to 1998 from the University of Southern Mississippi. 

Research Interest/Expertise: Along with US diplomatic and military history, Dr. Taylor studies European military and diplomatic history, World War I, World War II, US national security strategy and policy making, cultural history, international relations, and mass communications.

Dr. Brent D. Ziarnick is an Assistant Professor of  Spacepower and Schriever Space Scholars faculty at the Air University’s Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.  Dr. Ziarnick is a command space operations officer in the Air Force Reserve with extensive experience in Global Positioning System (GPS), space-based space domain awareness, offensive space control, and theater space command and control operations.  In civilian life he was a launch operations engineer at Spaceport America, New Mexico where he developed the long-range plan for the world’s first purpose-built inland commercial spaceport’s vertical launch activity.  He holds doctorates in economic development from New Mexico State University and military strategy from Air Univeristy, a master’s degree in space systems engineering from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a bachelor’s degree in space operations from the United States Air Force Academy, and is a graduate of both the Air Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Dr. Ziarnick is the author of two books and multiple articles on space power theory and strategy.


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Department of International Security (IS)

The Department of International Security is made up of civilian and military faculty from across the joint force and includes officers from our nation’s allies. Faculty within the department are responsible for teaching, research, and service. The department develops and delivers two of the core courses: International Security 1 and International Security 2. The first course, IS 1, provides a comprehensive overview of the context in which the development of US grand strategy occurs. The second course, IS 2, explores the conduct of national security through the lens of military strategy.

 

Lt Col Michael P. Kreuzer is Department Chairman for International Security and Assistant Professor of International Security Studies at Air Command and Staff College.  He holds a PhD in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage, a Masters of Strategic Intelligence from American Military University, and a BS in History from the US Air Force Academy.   He is a career intelligence officer who has served multiple combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was the Director of Operations for Distributed Ground Station-1.  Prior to his current assignment, he was the Associate Military Provost for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, CA.  His research interests include the adoption of emerging technologies by states and military forces, and the organizational capacity required to adapt to changes in the operating environment.
Dr. Matthew R. Schwonek currently is the Deputy Department Chairman, Department of International Security, Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He is Associate Professor of Comparative Military Studies. His responsibilities include teaching ACSC core courses in military theory, international relations, and security studies.  He also teaches elective course on politics and security in Central Europe.  He received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in East Central European and Russian History from the Ohio State University in 1994. Before coming to ACSC in 1996, he served as assistant director of Ohio State’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies.  His research interests include European military and diplomatic history, the history of Poland, Russia/Soviet Union, and Balkans.  He has published articles and book chapters on the history of Polish arms. He is currently completing a political and military biography of Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski, spanning a career from terrorist to Commander in Chief.
Lt Col Andrew Ulat is the Director of Staff for the Department of International Security at Air Command and Staff College.  He holds a MS in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University and is a certified instructor of International Security Courses I and II. Lt Col Ulat is a career Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Launch Control Officer with 18 years of experience in ICBM operations, ICBM flight testing and evaluations as well as two joint assignments in Nuclear Command, Control and Communications. He was twice selected to serve as a Presidential Strike Advisor first with the National Airborne Operations Center at USSTRATCOM and then with the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon. Lt Col Ulat has staff experience at the group and Joint Staff levels.  He has also served as an ICBM instructor/evaluator, group executive officer, two-time flight commander in both an operational and flight test squadron, an airspace surveillance officer, an Emergency Actions Officer and as an Assistant to the Deputy Director of Operations at the Pentagon.  Lt Col Ulat received his commission in December 2002 from the Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.  As an Air Force Nuclear Technical Fellow, he graduated from the Weapons Intern Program at Sandia National Laboratories in 2016.  Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Ulat served as an Assistant Director of Operations and as the Chief of Safety at Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
Dr. Kevin C. Holzimmer is Deputy Chairman of the Department of International Security and Professor of Comparative Military Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC).  Before his current position at ACSC, he was a research professor at the USAF Air Force Research Institute and taught at the School for Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Dr. Holzimmer has published numerous studies on World War II in the Pacific, including General Walter Krueger: Unsung Hero of the Pacific War (University Press of Kansas).  He is currently working on a book-length project that examines how the principal air, land, and sea commanders forged an effective joint team that successfully fought the Japanese in Douglas MacArthur’s Southwest Pacific Area.  In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Holzimmer has worked on recent policy concerns, first with GEN David H. Petraeus’ USCENTCOM Joint Strategic Assessment Team (9 October 2008- February 2009) and most recently conducting fieldwork in charting a U.S. Air Force strategy based upon President Obama’s famous “pivot to Asia” speech.  He holds a PhD in military history from Temple University.
Lt Col Dustin Hansen is an instructor embedded within the Department of International Security at Air Command and Staff College. By trade, he is a Weather and Environmental Science Officer (AFSC: 15W) with previous assignments including squadron command, deputy group command and various staff positions at U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, U.S Africa Command and Headquarters Air Force. Dustin graduated from Cedarville University, Ohio, earning a Bachelors in Communications and later enlisted in the Air Force.  After a few years, he received his commission at Air Force's Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB.  As an FGO, Dustin completed Air Command and Staff College and Air War College via correspondence.  Additionally, he holds a Masters in International Relations from Troy University.  Dustin is a static line jumpmaster and his combat experience includes OEF Afghanistan where he deployed with the 82d Airborne Division's Combat Aviation Brigade.  He also served two separate tours to Korea where he supported the 8th Army and US Forces Korea.
Lt Col Blas is an assistant professor at Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and the Director of Instruction for the department of International Security. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from Valdosta State University, Masters in National Security Strategy from Naval Postgraduate School, Masters in Military Operational Art and Science from ACSC, and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Utah.  Lt Col Blas is a career Intelligence officer with 17 years of experience at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.  His experience spans six deployments supporting combat search and rescue and special operations combat missions in operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Inherent Resolve. Lt Col Blas received his commission in 2004 from the United States Air Force Academy. Since then, he has been assigned to numerous operational and staff positions at Moody AFB GA, Izmir Turkey, Fort Bragg NC, and Scott AFB, IL. Most recently he completed his PhD from the University of Utah where his dissertation explored strategic narratives' connection to military strategy development. Lt Col Blas is currently working on two projects. In the first, he is refining his dissertation's theoretical findings and connecting them with our current understanding of Information Warfare. In his second project, he is exploring President Vladimir Putin's use of nuclear rhetoric during the Ukraine Crisis. He teaches Military Theory, International Security, and Contemporary Warfare.
Wing Commander Robin Kemp is the RAF Exchange Officer at ACSC. He is a graduate of ACSC and SAASS, and teaches Military Theory, International Security, and Contemporary Warfare. Commissioned as an RAF Intelligence officer, Wg Cdr Kemp has worked predominantly in SIGINT and Strategic Intelligence Analysis. Operational tours include Iraq and Afghanistan, the latter as one of Gen McChrystal and Maj Gen Flynn's British intelligence advisors. More recently, he has specialized in targeting, and was the senior British targeteer at Al Udeid CAOC for operations against ISIL. Wg Cdr Kemp's tour prior to ACSC was as Deputy Chief Effects in SHAPE, NATO, where he established the Centralized Targeting Capacity and the Joint Effects concept (think JADS). In addition to his ACSC Masters, he holds an Masters in Musical Analysis & Composition, a Master of Arts in International Security, and a Master of Philosophy in Strategy. Wg Cdr Kemp is currently working on his PhD, examining contemporary Open-Source Intelligence and its ability to acknowledge military activities.
As an Air Command and Staff College Fellow, Major Hamilton is currently assigned as an instructor in the Department of International Security.  A fighter pilot by trade, Major Hamilton has 1,000 hours in the F-16 as well as 1,000 hours in the T-38. His previous assignments include Aviano AB, Osan AB, Luke AFB and Sheppard AFB.  He commissioned through the ROTC program at New Mexico State University in 2009.
Maj Matthew Pineda is an Air University Fellow and instructor in the Department of International Security at the United States Air Force's Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Maj Pineda completed the ACSC In-Residence program in May 2022. He received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 2009 and completed pilot training at Vance AFB, OK. Prior to ACSC, Maj Pineda taught at the KC-135 Formal Training Unit as an Instructor/Evaluator Pilot and was the Director of Staff for the 97th Operational Support Squadron, Altus AFB, OK. He holds a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University and a Master of Business Administration from American Military University. Maj Pineda is an AETC Master Instructor and Senior Pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in the KC-135 and MC-12 aircraft.
Dr. Andrew Akin is an Associate Professor of National Security studies at the Air Command and Staff College. He attend Wabash College in Indiana for undergraduate school, studying political science & Russian language. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in International Relations. Having studied and traveled extensively in Russia as an undergrad and graduate student on a Fulbright-hays fellowship, his research focuses on both armed conflict & the post-Soviet states. He was the 2017 AETC civilian educator of the year.  His published work appears in outlets such as The Washington Post, and the Journal, Russian Politics. He is also a classically trained cellist and performs regularly with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Kathryn Boehlefeld is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies at Air University's Air Command and Staff College, and a faculty member for the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS). She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and her B.A. from Northern Illinois University. She is also a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School. Dr. Boehlefeld teaches courses on nuclear deterrence theory and practice, international security, and comparative civil-military relations. Her research centers on international security, with a particular focus on national security policy, civil-military relations, and nuclear deterrence. Currently, she is working on projects related to conventional-nuclear integration, military professionalism, and a comparative study of the efficacy of the Iranian and North Korea nuclear sanctions.
Dr. Melvin G. Deaile is the Director of the School of Advanced Nuclear and Deterrence Studies (SANDS) and an Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He teaches classes on nuclear deterrence, nuclear strategy, joint warfighting, and classical military thought. Dr Deaile hails from Fresno, CA native, and is a retired Air Force Colonel, where he served two tours in the B-52 Stratofortress and a tour in the B-2 Spirit. He has flown combat operations as part of Operations DESERT STORM and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, including a record setting 44.3 hour combat mission, and deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and a distinguished graduate of the USAF Weapon School.       Dr. Deaile recently published his first book, Always at War, which chronicles the development of SAC’s organizational culture under Gen Curtis LeMay. He is the author of multiple articles, editorials, and book reviews on nuclear weapons and their role in national security.
Dr. William Dean is an Associate Professor of History at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, AL. He is a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) and received his doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago in European military and diplomatic history. He was a Chateaubriand recipient from the French government and has won the Military Officer of America Association (MOAA) award for civilian educator of the year and the Major General John Alison Award for Air Force Special Operations. He has published on French colonial warfare, intelligence, and air power issues in Revue Historique des Armées, Penser les Ailes Françaises, Defense Intelligence Review, and several chapters in various books.
Dr. Robert DiPrizio is an Associate Professor of Security and Military Studies at Air Command and Staff College. He is an expert on numerous security issues such as humanitarian interventions and the Arab-Israeli conflict.  He is the author of “Armed Humanitarians: US Interventions from Northern Iraq to Kosovo,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and is editor of “Conflict in the Holy Land: From Ancient Times to the Arab-Israeli Conflicts” published by ABC-CLIO. Dr. DiPrizio grew up in the Boston area and earned his PhD in International Relations in 2000 from the University of Delaware.  He now lives in Prattville with his two children and a massive dog named Buddy.
The son of a thirty-year Army non-commissioned officer, Colonel (ret) Michael L. Grumelli earned his Ph.D. in military history from Rutgers University in 1991.  Since earning his doctorate, he has been assigned to the faculty of the United States Air Force Academy, as the Deputy Director of Military History, as an instructor with the Air War College’s Department of Strategy, Doctrine, and Airpower, in addition to teaching with the School of Advance Air and Space Studies.  He currently teaches in the Department of International Security of the Air Command and Staff College.  Dr. Grumelli’s primary interest as an educator is in the intellectual demands of national security and gray zone warfare in an era of great power competition.
Dr. Wes Hutto is Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of International Security. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alabama. He serves as Course Director of International Security I: The Context of International Security, and offers an elective on comparative regional security. His research interests include international security, military science, multinational military exercises and US foreign policy, and comparative regional security. His work has been published in Defence Studies and RUSI Journal.
Dr. Michael Ryan Kraig is Associate Professor of International Security Studies at Air Command and Staff College.  He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University at Buffalo, New York, with a major in international security studies and a minor in comparative politics.  Dr. Kraig served in several senior capacities with the Stanley Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan foundation devoted to researching and advocating security policy options for the US and its competitors that would moderate the extremes of their geopolitical disagreements. He was a frequent traveler to Europe, the Middle East and Asia to give scholarly presentations on US policy thinking and strategy, alongside management and implementation of broad-based “track-2,” informal diplomatic dialogues among a wide range of senior national and global political leaders, think-tank analysts, and academics from global capitals such as Tehran, Riyadh, Damascus, Cairo, Dubai, Muscat (Oman), Berlin, London, Moscow, and Beijing. Prior to joining the foundation, Dr. Kraig interned with what is now known as the Government Accountability Office on nuclear weapons issues in the post-Cold War era and presented findings on South Asian nuclear arsenals at the UN 2000 NPT Review Conference.
Dr. Todd C. Robinson is an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies with the School for Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS) at the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell, AFB.  He was previously an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Enterprise Operations with the Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies at the Air War College.  Prior to this, he was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation and the Associate Director of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  His research focuses on nuclear weapons issues, including strategic deterrence and assurance, military roles and responsibilities, and East Asia, and has been published in the Non-Proliferation Review, Swords and Ploughshares, the Yale Journal of International Affairs, and the National Interest.  He is currently working on a book manuscript on comparative nuclear culture.  His teaching responsibilities include being the instructor of Deterrence Theory and Practice I within the SANDS curriculum, as well as sections of War Theory and International Security II for ACSC and a joint AWC/ACSC elective on Comparative Nuclear Strategy.  He has a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Alabama, an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Lt Col Brian Tileston is an instructor at Air Command and Staff College’s Department of International Security.  In addition to teaching the International Security Course and Joint Warfighting, he is the Deputy Director for the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies.  Lt Col Tileston has multiple assignments throughout the nuclear enterprise and deployments supporting combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East.  He has a Master’s Degree in Airpower Theory and Technology Integration from the Blue Horizons Fellowship and a Bachelor of Business Administration in General Business from Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas.  Prior to his assignment at ACSC, Lt Col Tileston was deployed for a year as the Chief of Strategic Plans/Deputy Division Chief, Strategy Division, 609th Air Operations Center.
Major Lee Payne is currently assigned as Instructor, School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies (SANDS).  SANDS is a concentration within the Department of International Security at the Air Command and Staff College.  The mission of SANDS is to produce graduates who are proficient in the six core nuclear competencies (Nuclear Operations; Unique Aspects of the Nuclear Mission; U.S. Nuclear Support and Infrastructure; Nuclear Surety; Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications; and Nuclear Policy and Strategy).  Graduates go on to serve in command and/or staff roles where they advice senior leaders of the military on nuclear related matters.  Major Payne was commissioned in 2008 from South Dakota State University and completed Undergraduate Missile Operations training in September 2009.  Major Payne has held numerous positions at the Missile Squadron and Operations Group levels including:  Assistant Operations Officer; Flight Commander; Assistant Chief, Standardization and Evaluation; and Instructor.  Major Payne is a 2014 Graduate of the Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Weapons School.  Major Payne has a staff tour at Air Forces Strategic – Air, where he was the Southern Command Plans Branch Chief.  Major Payne is also a 2022 Graduate of the SANDS program. Major Payne is a senior Nuclear and Missile Operations officer.  He has more than 300 alerts, providing the President of the United States the ability to defend the nation through the execution of the nation’s most prompt nuclear response.