I am a retired Air Force officer, most recently teaching American Politics and National Security courses at the United States Air Force Academy.  I hold two Master of Arts degrees in Political Science, one from American Military University and one from the University of Florida, where my major fields were American Politics and Campaigns/Elections. I also hold a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence degree from National Intelligence University, where my major field was International Relations and my thesis was awarded the NIU Research Award for the best thesis in the entire university. 

I was born and raised right here in Florida, where I met my future wife in high school. We've been married for 14 years and have a terrific 12 year-old daughter. We have been a licensed foster-care family, with a  passion for helping children who are experiencing domestic trauma. We have seen first-hand the horrors of the foster care system, and the importance of a thriving Guardian ad Litem program. 

I spent the first half of my Air Force career as a C-130 Navigator and Weapons Officer, conducting four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as an aircrew member. I was then designated as an Afghanistan-Pakistan political-military advisor, and spent two additional years in Afghanistan performing these duties. In this capacity, I served as Senior Advisor to the President and National Security Advisor of Afghanistan, assisting with the authorship of Afghanistan’s first National Security Strategy, and was instrumental in securing continued coalition support.

After these deployments, I served on the political science faculty at the US Air Force Academy, where my research interests included the intersection of domestic policy and national security, polarization and party loyalty in state legislatures, and political campaigns. My work has been published in the Air and Space Power Journal, the Journal of International Affairs, the American Intelligence Journal, and CSIS' Issues and Insights. I have also published several book projects, to include co-editing American Defense Policy (9th edition), while also writing the epilogue to that volume analyzing defense policy resiliency in the face of non-traditional national security threats such as pandemics and climate change. I also authored a chapter for Culture Shock: Leadership Lessons from the Military's Diplomatic Corps, and published The Small Business Owner's Guide series of books. 

While deployed to Afghanistan, my wife and I started a small-business selling first-of-its-kind cinnamon packets. They're perfect for cinnamon enthusiasts on the go!