Department of Defense

Bio, via William & Mary (Bio from 2015):

Ethan, a junior at the College of William and Mary, hails from a small town in South Florida. He is currently pursuing an International Relations degree with a possibility of minoring in Russian Area Studies. Before transferring to the college his sophomore year he was in the United States Marine Corps. Although he originally intended to become a military police officer, he was selected for a special duty assignment working as part of the security company responsible for protection of the presidential helicopters. Throughout five years of service he had the opportunity to travel and work on five continents, be on the periphery of numerous political summits (G8, G20), and play an integral role in the conduct of presidential travel. He left the Marine Corps in 2013 with numerous awards and commendations. In the summer of 2014, he took advantage of the school’s study abroad opportunities and spent six weeks in Russia studying the Russian language intensively. He is currently interested in domestic issues concerning veterans, health policy, and debate on foreign policy in the house and senate. When he’s not facing the rigors of college life he enjoys being outdoors, exercising, jamming out to Dave Matthews Band and watching the Washington Nationals (throw away they’re opportunity at a World Series win.) He’s enthusiastically looking forward to the opportunities that await him in the nation’s capital.

Bio, via U.S. Department of Defense:

Prior to this appointment, Dr. James H. Anderson served three years as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Marine Corps University. In this capacity, he supervised academic programs that educate thousands of Marines annually. From 2012 to 2015, he was Dean of Academics and Deputy Director at the Marine Corps War College. From 2009 to 2012, he worked as Professor of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies, where he directed the Program in Advanced Security Studies. Dr. Anderson served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2009, where he was Director of Middle East Policy in International Security Affairs, among other positions. In addition to his Pentagon service, Dr. Anderson worked as an Associate at DFI International, a private consulting firm; a Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank; and an Associate Professor of International Relations at Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University. He has also taught courses at National Defense University, George Washington University, Lasell College, and the University of Phoenix. He is the co-author of Leading Dynamic Seminars: A Practical Handbook for University Educators (Palgrave Macmillian, 2013). He is the author of America at Risk: The Citizen's Guide to Missile Defense (Heritage Foundation, 1999), and has written numerous articles and op-eds on a wide range of national security topics. Earlier in his career, Dr. Anderson served three years on active duty as an intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps, and then became a reservist in the Individual Ready Reserve. Dr. Anderson earned his Doctorate in International Relations and Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. He is a recipient of the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award (2012) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service (2009).

Bio, via LinkedIn:

Transitioning from the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Army, supervising, recruiting, training, and leading the 5,000 attorneys of the Nation’s largest and oldest law firm providing legal services in 600 offices in 22 countries delivering full spectrum legal support to the million Soldiers and 200,000 civilian employees of the United States Army. Led the team managing the Army's compliance issues, high profile criminal cases and sensitive investigations; advises on recent changes to the defense acquisition processes; manages the uniformed Army's ethics program; provides intelligence, national security, and international law oversight; serves as an Army liaison to Congress; and is the JAG Corps CIO. Years of experience as the principle legal advisor and general counsel to senior military leaders and commanders dealing with complex legal issues in diverse environments. Breadth of experience includes senior legal advisor for the Multinational Corps in Iraq; environmental litigation attorney; legal advisor and liaison to Congress for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs seeking authorities to build partner capacity; Commandant of the ABA-accredited US Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School; and Chief Judge of the Army’s Court of Criminal Appeals. His statutory four-year term as the 20th Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Army ended in August 2017.

Bio, via Defense Department:

Alex A. Beehler served as as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety and Occupational Health) from 2004 to 2009. Mr. Beehler served as the principal assistant and advisor to Deputy Under Secretary Grone for all environmental, safety, and occupational health policies and programs in DoD. Those programs include cleanup at active and closing bases, compliance with environmental laws, conservation of natural and cultural resources, pollution prevention, environmental technology, fire protection, safety and explosive safety, and pest management and disease control for Defense activities worldwide. He also advises Mr. Grone on international military agreements and programs pertaining to environmental security. Mr. Beehler's priorities included the implementation of DoD's environmental readiness initiative in response to challenges of encroachment, the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, unexploded ordnance management, explosive safety, and pollution prevention. Mr. Beehler came to the department from Koch Industries where he served as Director of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs and concurrently served at the Charles G. Koch Foundation as Vice President for Environmental Projects. Mr. Beehler maintained a strong background in federal environmental policy having served in the Department of Justice as a senior trial attorney for environmental enforcement and at the Environmental Protection Agency as a special assistant for legal and enforcement counsel. Mr. Beehler is a member of the District of Columbia, State of Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia bar associations. He received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton (1975) in public and international affairs and a law degree from University of Virginia (1978).

Bio, via United States Air Force:

Maj. Gen. Robert F. Behler is Commander of the Air Force Command and Control, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center, Langley Air Force Base, Va. General Behler is responsible for integrating command and control, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Air Force to reduce duplication of effort, increase commonality and enable the Expeditionary Air Force. He is also the implementing agent for Air Force experimentation. The center comprises 780 people, and defines C2 and ISR requirements and operational concepts, develops open architectures, and manages C2 and ISR systems and budgets. It consists of a headquarters staff at Langley AFB, and field units at the Air Force's Command and Control Battlelab and the C2 Training and Innovation Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The AF2ISRC also has liaison offices at Air Force major command headquarters, Air Force Materiel Command centers, and Department of Defense organizations. General Behler entered the Air Force in 1972 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Oklahoma. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the College of Engineering where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering. General Behler is also a distinguished graduate of undergraduate pilot training at Reese AFB, Texas, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif. He has commanded the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, the 9th Operations Group and the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. The general is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours in 65 types of aircraft, including the SR-71 and U-2.

Bio, via Department of Defense:

From 2013 to 2017, Ms. Bingen served as the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Policy Director. Beginning in 2006, Ms. Bingen served in support of the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the HASC where she advised members conducting oversight of military intelligence programs, military space operations, missile defense, and the nuclear security enterprise of the DoD and Department of Energy. Prior to entering government, Ms. Bingen was employed with SRA International’s Adroit C4ISR Center as a space systems analyst. She also served as a senior space policy analyst at the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a 2002 NRO Technology Fellow.

Bio, via Department of Defense:

Prior to this appointment, beginning in 2011, Ms. Blair served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Human Resources and Chief Human Capital Officer (DASHR-CHCO). She was responsible for Department-wide policy and oversight in all areas of human capital management. At Treasury Ms. Blair instituted “HRStat” performance reviews; organized the Human Capital professional community; led development of an enterprise-wide integrated talent management system; and initiated policies and programs for strategic workforce planning and competency-based functional community management to address critical skills gaps. Before joining the Treasury Department, Ms. Blair was Chief Strategist for the National Security Professional Development Integration Office. From 2001 to 2009, Ms. Blair served in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, first as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Military Personnel Policy and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Total Force Transformation, where she was responsible for developing and implementing the Department’s Human Capital Strategy. In 2008, she became Acting Assistant Secretary, overseeing the management of a workforce comprising over 800,000 active and reserve military and civilian government employees. Ms. Blair is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Before entering the federal government, she practiced business law and litigation. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Greek and Geography from the University of Michigan.

Bio, via Politico:

The son of a lawyer and Protestant pastor, Brooks decided to join the Army when he was in high school in Cleveland. “I’ve always liked being a part of something that’s bigger than me,” he said. Although he was inspired by his grandfather, a patrol torpedo boat commander in the Navy, he enrolled at West Point. After graduating in 1997, he served in a variety of infantry duty positions as a platoon leader based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Meanwhile, he got married and had two children. Then came Sept. 11, 2001. “That changed everything,” he said. Brooks served in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and then again in 2006. When he came back the second time, he started to think about the next assignment after command. He decided to apply for the Army fellowship in Cornyn’s office because he craved knowledge of policy, and the Texas senator’s views on the war aligned with his own. “The senator is a steadfast supporter of the troops and the mission,” Brooks said. “He knows a precipitous withdrawal would lead to chaos in the region. He gets it.” During his time on Capitol Hill, Brooks has been impressed with the political process. “The folks here have good intentions,” he said. “They’re trying to do the right thing.” He remembered the first time he went to the Senate floor with Cornyn to hear him speak about staying the course in Iraq. “That was the moment it struck me,” Brooks said. “The senator was translating the emotional investment I had in Iraq and was putting it to paper. He gave voice to my concerns.” Still, Brooks has no plans to stay in politics once his fellowship ends. “This experience has made me a well-rounded individual,” he said, “but my aspirations aren’t political. My passion is leading troops.”

Bio, via The Heritage Foundation:

Rebecca Buchheit served as a Fellowships and Outreach Associate at The Heritage Foundation.