Lieutenant General John R. Allen, USMC

Deputy Commander, United States Central Command

Lieutenant General John R. Allen became Deputy Commander, United States Central Command, on 15 July 2008.

Following commissioning, he attended The Basic School and was assigned to Second Battalion, 8th Marines, where he served as a platoon and rifle company commander. His next tour took him to Marine Barracks at 8th and I, Washington, D.C., where he served at the Marine Corps Institute and as a ceremonial officer. Major General Allen then attended, and was the Distinguished Graduate of, the Postgraduate Intelligence Program of the Defense Intelligence College. He would serve subsequently as the Marine Corps Fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He was the first Marine Corps officer inducted as a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Returning to the Fleet Marine Force in 1985, he commanded rifle and weapons companies and served as the operations officer of Third Battalion, 4th Marines. During this period he received the Leftwich Leadership Trophy. In 1988, Major General Allen reported to the Naval Academy where he taught in the Political Science Department and also served as the Jump Officer and Jump Master of the Academy. In 1990, he received the William P. Clements Award as military instructor of the year.

Lieutenant General Allen reported to The Basic School as director of the Infantry Officer Course from 1990-1992 and was subsequently selected as a Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow, serving as a special assistant on the staffs of the 30th Commandant and the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command. In 1994, he served as Division G-3 Operations Officer for the Second Marine Division and subsequently assumed command of Second Battalion, 4th Marines; re-designated as Second Battalion, 6th Marines. This unit served with JTF 160 in Operation Sea Signal during Caribbean contingency operations in 1994, and as part of the Landing Force of the 6th Fleet in Operation Joint Endeavor during Balkans contingency operations in 1995-1996.

Following battalion command, Lieutenant General Allen reported as the Senior Aide de Camp to the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, ultimately serving as his Military Secretary. He commanded The Basic School from 1999 to 2001, when he was selected in April 2001 to return to the Naval Academy as the Deputy Commandant. Major General Allen became the 79th Commandant of Midshipmen in January 2002, the first Marine Corps officer to serve in this position at the Naval Academy.

Lieutenant General Allen's first tour as a General Officer was as the Principal Director, Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, a position he occupied for nearly three years. During this tour, he was the recipient of the Mongolian Meritorious Service Medal, First Class and the Taiwan Order of the Resplendent Banner with Special Cravat.

From 2006-2008, Lieutenant General Allen served as Deputy Commanding General, II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) and Commanding General, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, deploying to Iraq for OIF 06-08, serving as the Deputy Commanding General of Multinational Force - West (MNF-W) and II MEF (Forward) in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

Lieutenant General Allen graduated with military honors from the Naval Academy with the Class of 1976, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Analysis. He is a 1998 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Government from Georgetown University, a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College, and a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. Personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with three Gold Stars in lieu of four awards.

Mr. Matthew Buckley

CEO, The Options News Network

Mr. Buckley is the CEO of The Options News Network. Prior to that, he was a decorated Navy fighter pilot for 15 years and flew the F/A-18 Hornet. He graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School ("TOPGUN"), has close to 400 carrier landings, and flew 44 combat sorties over Iraq.

After leaving active duty and joining a reserve fighter squadron in Fort Worth, Texas, "Whiz" was scheduled for his first flight as an American Airlines pilot on September 11th, 2001. Instead, he ended up flying combat air patrol over the United States and went from piloting his first airliner to possibly shooting one down. He was furloughed along with thousands of others in the airline industry, and turned his attention to the business and financial world.

Mr. Buckley is a nationally recognized speaker in the areas of leadership, business strategy and risk management. He has been trading options for himself for over 10 years. He recently completed his first book titled "From Sea Level to C Level: A Navy Fighter Pilot's Leadership and Business Lessons from the Front Lines to the Front Office."

Mr. Paul R. Charron

Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus LLC

Mr. Charron recently became the chairman-elect of Campbell Soup Co.'s board of directors. Currently, he is a senior advisor on the U.S. Advisory Board at Warburg Pincus LLC, a private equity firm, and a managing partner of Fidus Investment Partners. Mr. Charron joined Warburg Pincus in 2008 and focuses on investment activities in the consumer and retail industries. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Liz Claiborne Inc. from 1995 to 2006. He joined Liz Claiborne in 1994 as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, becoming President in 1995 and Chairman of the Board in 1996.

Prior to joining Liz Claiborne, Mr. Charron served as Executive Vice President of VF Corporation, the largest publicly-held apparel manufacturer in the United States. Prior to joining VF in 1988, Mr. Charron served in various executive capacities at Brown & Bigelow, Inc., Cannon Mills Company, General Foods Corporation and The Procter & Gamble Company.

As a junior naval officer in the Vietnam War, he served on destroyers as a communications specialist, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. He received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Kathy, have two grown children, Bradley and Ashley, and live in Darien, Connecticut.

Dr. David Cortright, Ph.D.

President, Fourth Freedom Forum

David Cortright is president of the Fourth Freedom Forum in Goshen, Indiana, and a research fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He has served as consultant or adviser to various agencies of the United Nations, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, the International Peace Academy, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Along with George A. Lopez, he has provided research and consulting services to the Foreign Ministry of Sweden, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and the Foreign Ministry of Germany. He has written widely on nuclear disarmament, nonviolent social change, and the use of incentives and sanctions as tools of international peacemaking.

His most recent book is Peace: A History of Movements & Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 2008). His other books include Uniting Against Terror: Cooperative Nonmilitary Responses to the Global Military Threat (MIT Press, 2007); Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence in an Age of Terrorism (Paradigm, 2006); Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War (Haymarket Books, 2005); A Peaceful Superpower: The Movement Against War in Iraq (2004); Smart Sanctions: Targeting Economic Statecraft, and Sanctions and the Search for Security: Challenges to UN Action; The Sanctions Decade: Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990s (2000); The Price of Peace: Incentives and International Conflict Prevention (1997); and Peace Works: The Citizen's Role in Ending the Cold War (1993).

He has co-authored various policy reports, including "Toward a More Secure America: Grounding U.S. Policy in Global Realities" (November 2003); "Unproven: The Controversy over Justifying War in Iraq" (June 2003); "Sanctions, Inspections, and Containment: Viable Policy Options in Iraq" (June 2002); "Winning Without War: Sensible Security Options for Dealing with Iraq" (October 2002); and "Smart Sanctions: Restructuring UN Policy in Iraq" (April 2001), as well as numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals.

Dr. Michael Desch, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame

As a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Desch specializes in international relations with emphases on international security, political theory and international relations, and American foreign and defense policies.

He is the author of When the Third World Matters: Latin America and U.S. Grand Strategy; Civilian Control of the Military: The Changing Security Environment; Power and Military Effectiveness: The Fallacy of Democratic Triumphalism; co-editor of From Pirates to Drug Lords: The Post-Cold War Caribbean Security Environment; editor of Soldiers in Cities: Military Operations on Urban Terrain; and has published numerous scholarly articles and reviews.

He has served on the editorial boards of Perspectives on Politics, International Security and Security Studies. He is completing a book-length analytical study of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and beginning a major research project exploring when and how social science theory affects U.S. national security policy.

Dr. Desch holds a B.A. from Marquette University, and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Emily Goldman, Ph.D.

Strategic Communication Advisor, U.S. Department of State

Emily Goldman is Strategic Communication Advisor in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism U.S. Department of State with responsibilities for strategic communication, countering violent extremism and development of a long-term strategy for counter-terrorism.

From October 2006 - January 2007 she was Assistant to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs with responsibility for policy development and transformation of the Department of Defense's international education, outreach and strategic communication efforts. From January 2007 - September 2007, she was Associate Director, Support to Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of Defense with responsibility for strategic communication planning and implementation with a focus on Asia-Pacific and Afghanistan, and countering violent extremism.

She joined the faculty of the University of California Davis in 1989 and was Associate Professor of Political Science until 2008. She has authored books and articles on U.S. strategic, military, and arms control policy; strategic adaptation in peacetime; military innovation; organizational change; and defense resource allocation. She has been the recipient of awards from the MacArthur, Olin, Pew and Smith Richardson Foundations, U.S. Institute of Peace; and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

She has two research projects underway. Power in Uncertain Times examines grand strategy and military planning when threats are unclear. Diffusion of Unconventional Conflict Practices examines how terrorist tactics diffuse. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University.

Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward, USN

Deputy Commander, United States Joint Forces Command

Vice Admiral Harward, born to a Navy family, is a native of Newport, R.I. After graduation from the Tehran American High School, he attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport. In June 1975 he was awarded a fleet appointment to the Naval Academy and graduated in 1979.

Harward reported to Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport with follow-on orders as a member of the commissioning crew of USS Scott (DDG 995), where he earned his surface warfare officer qualification. After completion of a South American deployment in support of Unitas XXIV, he was ordered to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUDS) training where he graduated as the honor man of Class 128.

His tours in Naval Special Warfare include platoon commander of SEAL Team 3; assault team leader and operations officer at Naval Special Warfare Development Group; executive officer of Naval Special Warfare Unit 1; operations officer at Naval Special Warfare Group 1 and commanding officer SEAL Team 3. Staff tours include special warfare plans for Commander, Amphibious Forces U.S. 7th Fleet; aide-de-camp to Commander in Chief, United States Special Operations Command and deputy commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific. Additional operational tours include Naval Special Warfare task group commander for Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait; Joint Special Operations task force commander for Operation Rugged Nautilus and deputy commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in support of Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia.

Harward is a graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff, the Naval Staff College and the Armed Forces Staff College. He holds a master's degree in International Relations and Strategic Security Affairs, served as a federal executive fellow at RAND and is a graduate of the MIT Foreign Policy program, Seminar XXI.

Harward assumed command of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 in August 2001 and deployed shortly after September 11, 2001, to Afghanistan. He commanded a Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (Task Force K-BAR) and directed special reconnaissance and direct action missions throughout the country. His forces included 2,700 personnel from Naval Special Warfare, Army Special Forces, Air Force Special Operations Aircraft and Special Tactics personnel as well as Special Operations Forces from Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey.

In October of 2002, Harward deployed as commander, Task Force 561 where he commanded Naval Special Warfare Task Group Central in Iraq. His forces included all the assets in the Naval Special Warfare inventory as well as forces from the Polish Grom, the United Kingdom Royal Marines and the Kuwaiti Navy. His forces conducted special reconnaissance and direct action missions in the maritime environment and throughout Iraq.

Harward reported to the Executive Office of the President at the White House in August 2003. He served in the National Security Council staff as the director of Strategy and Defense Issues where he crafted the National / Homeland Security Presidential Directives (NSPD-41 / HSPD-13) on Maritime Security and the National Strategy for Maritime Security. Harward's portfolio included nuclear counterterrorism for which he implemented policies to prevent terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction.

In April 2005, Harward was assigned as a plankowner to the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) in Washington, as the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, representative to the Senior Interagency Strategy Team. He was responsible for crafting the first National Implementation Plan and integration of DoD with its Interagency partners.

From June 2006 to July 2008, Harward served as the deputy commanding general, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., and has served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Nov. 3, 2008, Harward assumed the position of deputy commander, United States Joint Forces Command.

Mr. Joseph E. Kernan

Former Indiana Governor

Joseph Kernan graduated from St. Joseph's High School in South Bend, Indiana. He graduated in 1968 with a degree in Government from the University of Notre Dame.

Mr. Kernan entered the United States Navy in 1969 and served as a Naval Flight Officer aboard the carrier USS Kitty Hawk. In May 1972, he was shot down by the enemy while on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. He was held as a prisoner of war for 11 months, repatriated in 1973, and continued on active duty with the Navy until December 1974. He received the Navy Commendation Medal, two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1974 he married his wife, Maggie.

Mr. Kernan was elected mayor of South Bend in 1987, 1991, and 1995. In 1996, Kernan was elected as Indiana's Lieutenant Governor, and then re-elected in 2000. As lieutenant governor of Indiana, Kernan served as the president of the Indiana Senate, the director of the Indiana Department of Commerce, and as the commissioner of Agriculture.

Upon the death of Governor Frank O'Bannon, Mr. Kernan assumed the position of Governor of Indiana, a position he held from September of 2003 to January of 2005.

After serving as governor, Kernan returned to private life and became president of the South Bend Silver Hawks baseball club. In July 2007, Mr. Kernan was appointed by Governor Daniels to co-chair the Indiana Commission for Local Government Reform.

Dr. Sebastian Rosato, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Rosato is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, where he specializes in international relations theory, international security, and qualitative methods. He is currently working on a book project about the construction of the European Union. He is also the author of "The Flawed Logic of Democratic Peace Theory" and "Explaining the Democratic Peace," both published in the American Political Science Review.

Prior to joining the faculty at Notre Dame, he was a Fellow at the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He received a B.A. in History from Cambridge University, an M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. Before attending graduate school, he worked for Goldman Sachs in London.

Dr. Joseph Thomas, Ph.D.

Lakefield Family Foundation Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership
United States Naval Academy

Dr. Joseph J. Thomas is the Lakefield Family Foundation Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership and Senior Fellow in the VADM James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. He is the past Director of the John A. Lejeune Leadership Institute, Marine Corps University. A retired Marine LtCol, his assignments included 1st and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1, Assistant Professor of Naval Science at the University of Notre Dame, 6th Battalion Officer at the US Naval Academy, and Head of Training Management and Evaluation/ Senior Education Officer at Marine Corps Training and Education Command.

Joe is a graduate of Marine Corps Command and Staff College and a past recipient of the MajGen Merrit A. Edson Leadership Award, the Marine Corps Association Research and Writing Award, and the Col Donald Cook Distinguished Graduate Award of Command and Control Systems School. He is a former elected school board member, a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7293 Egypt PA, and is involved in a variety of community services. His research interests involve the practical application of ethics, military culture, organizational climate, and the use of history, literature, and biography to impart leadership lessons.

The author of numerous articles on the subjects of command and control, military training and education, and leadership, his published books include, Leadership Education for Marines (UMI Press, 2000), Leadership Embodied (The US Naval Institute Press, 2005, 2007), Naval Leadership Capstone (McGraw-Hill, 2006), Leadership Explored (AcademX, 2007), and Leadership and Ethics Discussion Guide for Marines (Marine Corps University, 2008). Joe's education includes an M.S.Sc. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, a M.S.S. from the US Army War College, a Ph.D. from George Mason University, and Certificate in Public Leadership from the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. He is married to the former Jacqueline Augustine of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, and they have three sons Joseph Jr., Andrew, and Robert.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West, USN

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West was born in Rising Fawn, Ga. He graduated from Northwest Georgia High School in 1981 and immediately entered the U.S. Navy.

West received recruit training and quartermaster training at Orlando, Fla., followed by Enlisted Submarine School at Groton, Conn. His first duty assignment was on board USS Ethan Allen (SSN 608) where he completed submarine qualifications. Other assignments include USS Thomas Edison (SSN 610), USS Sea Devil (SSN 664), Commander Naval Activities United Kingdom (COMNAVACTUK), USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628)(Blue) and Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) Staff (TRE Team).

West was then assigned as chief of the boat on board the San Diego-based fast attack submarine, USS Portsmouth (SSN 707), completing 2 Western Pacific deployments. The crew earned two Battle Efficiency "E" awards.

Upon completion of a command master chief (CMC) tour at COMSUBRON 11, he was selected as force master chief, COMSUBPAC from January 2001 to 2004. West was then assigned to USS Preble (DDG-88) homeported in San Diego, where he deployed to the Persian Gulf and qualified as an enlisted surface warfare specialist.

West was selected during his tour on the Preble to serve as Pacific Fleet (PACFLT), fleet master chief from February 2005 to June 2007. Following PACFLT, he served as the 14th fleet master chief for the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

West's personal awards include the Legion of Merit (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy Achievement Medal (two awards), Enlisted Surface Warfare Insignia, Enlisted Submarine Insignia and SSBN Deterrent Patrol Pin.

Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson, USA (Retired)

Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State

Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) Larry Wilkerson joined General Colin L. Powell in March 1989 at the U.S. Army's Forces Command in Atlanta, Georgia as his Deputy Executive Officer. He followed the General to his next position as Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving as his special assistant. Upon Powell's retirement from active service in 1993, Colonel Wilkerson served as the Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia. Upon Wilkerson's retirement from active service in 1997, he began working for General Powell in a private capacity as a consultant and advisor.

In December 2000, Secretary of State-designate Powell asked Wilkerson to join him in the Transition Office at the U.S. State Department and, later, upon his confirmation as Secretary of State, Secretary Powell moved Wilkerson to his Policy Planning Staff with responsibilities for East Asia and the Pacific, and legislative and political-military affairs. In June of 2002, the Director for Policy Planning, Ambassador Richard Haass, made Wilkerson the associate director. In August of 2002, Secretary Powell moved Wilkerson to the position of Chief of Staff of the Department, where he served until January of 2005.

Wilkerson is a veteran of the Vietnam war as well as a U.S. Army "Pacific hand," having served in Korea, Japan, and Hawaii and participated in military exercises throughout the Pacific. Moreover, Wilkerson was Executive Assistant to US Navy Admiral Stewart A. Ring, Director for Strategy and Policy (J5) USCINCPAC, from 1984-87. Wilkerson also served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College at Newport, RI and holds two advanced degrees, one in International Relations and the other in National Security Studies. He has written extensively on military and national security affairs -- especially for college-level curricula -- and been published in a number of professional journals, including the Naval Institute's Proceedings, The Naval War College Review, Military Review, and Joint Force Quarterly.