Steven A. Austin is Director, Planning and Analysis in the office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for International and Commercial Programs. He oversees DOD planning for international research, development, and acquisition programs; identification of candidates for international defense cooperation; and management of the NATO Cooperative Research and Development Program (Nunn Initiative). He also formulates positions for the Under Secretary of Defense (A&T) on issues relating to security assistance, national disclosure policy, munitions export licenses, and other transfers of US defense technology. Currently he serves as co-chair of the International Cooperative Opportunities Group (ICOG) on Major Defense Systems, and is coordinating US ICOG efforts with those of the major NATO allies.
Dionel M. Aviles is a professional staff member on the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He joined the committee staff in March, 1995 and is principally responsible for defense budgeting and financial management issues as well as shipbuilding and other Navy procurement programs. Prior to this, Mr. Aviles served in the National Security Division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master of business administration from the George Washington University.
Lars Bjerde is Counselor (Defense Cooperation) at the Embassy of Sweden, Washington DC, and earlier served as Assistant Military Attache. Mr. Bjerde served as Vice President of FFV Development Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia. He was previously Head of Section, Swedish Defense Materiel Administration in Stockholm, Sweden.
Thormod Bjerke is Managing Director for Hagglunds Moelv AS. The Company has 180 employees and 200 million in annual turnover. Mr. Bjerke has also been a member of the managing group, Hagglunds Vehicle AB, since 1990, and was previously Manager, Toten Industrier from 1985-1990. He is also a member of the Strategy and Business Development Group, Alvis plc, and has been on the NFL’s committee of negotiation since 1997 concerning the re-purchase/purchase of combat aircraft. Mr. Bjerke is presently Chairman of the Board of Dokka Mobler, and Hov Mobelindustrier, and is also an executive member of the board of Riise Gruppen.
James Bodner is Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Mr. Bodner has a key role in the Department’s political-military planning. Mr. Bodner was previously the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. In that role, he advised the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on significant policy matters for the Department and worked closely with staff of the National Security Council. Mr. Bodner worked in the Office of Senator Cohen from 1983 until the Senator became Secretary of Defense. From 1985 to 1997, Mr. Bodner was a Legislative Assistant and the principal advisor to Senator Cohen on foreign policy, national security, and science and technology. He was also the senator’s staff designee to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Gregory Bradford, President and CEO of Aerospatiale, Matra, Inc. since 1991, is responsible for the representation and operations of the Aerospatiale Matra Group in the United States. Mr. Bradford oversees government and industry relations and new business development. He brings more than 26 years of experience in government, defense and foreign affairs to Aerospatiale Matra. Previously he worked for the U.S. Departments of State and Defense as a diplomat and senior adviser on political and economic affairs, foreign policy and national security, primarily in the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Bradford is a pilot and served in the Strategic Air Command.
Colonel Tom Brown retired after thirty years in the Regular Army. His assignments ranged from platoon to Office of Secretary of Defense levels. Tom has commanded tactical units and installations. He has held positions of responsibility, which include Project Manager, Pershing; Executive Agent for the Intermediate Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty; Director of Weapon Systems at the US Army’s Missile Command and Business Manager for the Army’s Strategic Defense Command. Tom has taught at the Defense Systems Management College (Professor of Finance) and at several service schools. .
Major Jeff Christoff is the US Air Force Program Manager of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program in the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. Previous assignments include managing Air Force Space Command Space Warfare Center acquisition programs, Integration Team Lead for a theater tactical warning system using Air Force Defense Support Program surveillance data, and System Engineer to define the Air Force’s role in Theater Missile Defense. Currently, Maj Christoff overseas the execution of 11 funded projects in 8 countries.
Mark Dawson is in the Washington DC office of Congressman Robert Aderholt, who is serving his second term representing District Four of Alabama. Mark was educated at Lipscomb University and at the University of Alabama. He is Rep. Aderholt’s Legislative Director and Appropriations Associate. Much of his work focuses on the issues of Defense and Trade.
Peter DeMayo is currently Vice President, Contract Policy, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, Maryland. He is a corporate officer of Lockheed Martin. He retired from the navy in February, 1990, with the rank of Rear Admiral. His last military assignment was as the Commander of the naval Aviation Depots, a logistics support organization of six organic depots, 25,000 people, and sales of $2 billion per year. He also served as Assistant Professor of System Acquisition Management while at the Naval Postgraduate School.
John Detombe provides IT security engineering support as an integrator, engineering consultant and project manager. His expertise lies in the areas of cryptographic key management, encryption, digital signatures, security architectures and IT security profiles. During his 21-year tenure with the Canadian Forces and after joining SAIC Canada four years ago, Mr. Detombe has provided security-related input to several projects of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). He gave security engineering support to the Classified Canadian Electronic Key Management System (CCEKMS) and the Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN). He is a recognized expert in Entrust from both a security policy and an implementation point of view. As a member of ISO/IEC SC27 WG2, he takes part in the ongoing development of international standards in the field of cryptographic techniques and mechanisms.
Constance Fortune has more than 20 years of experience in both management and technical functions for Canadian, US , foreign military and commercial programs. She has represented SAIC in Canada as Vice President since 1986 and has first-hand experience with the challenges facing a multinational firm and its subsidiaries in today's globalized marketplace. Ms. Fortune is responsible for the overall management, including technical, financial, contractual, personnel, quality and risk management, of Systems Operation, a division of SAIC Canada. Her organization focuses on providing Systems Development, Systems Integration and IT Security services to a variety of clients in the military, government and commercial sectors. Along with her formal education in mathematics and business administration and her extensive experience in all aspects of program development and management, Ms. Fortune brings to her work a passion for excellence and a total commitment to employee wellness and customer satisfaction.
Dr. R. Robinson Harris is Director of Business Development and Planning, Lockheed Martin, Launching Systems, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Harris served 30 years in the United States Navy, retiring in the grade of Captain. Captain Harris served on the personal staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OP-OOK), and as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director for International Negotiations, Joint Chiefs of Staff. His last assignment was Executive Director of the CNO Executive Panel (NOOK), 1995-98.
Walter Henderson’s recent experience was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he specialized in negotiating defense trade and contractual provisions of armaments cooperation agreements. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the George Washington University Law School. He is retired in the grade of Colonel. Mr. Henderson is a member of the bar and a registered patent attorney. He chairs the International Procurement Committee of the Federal Bar Association, and is a consultant in the field of international trade.
Michael Herson is President of American Defense International, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in government affairs and international business development. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in American Government from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law, and a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. From 1990 to 1993, he served as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Personnel. Shortly thereafter, he was part of the team that successfully defended the Great Lakes Naval Training Center before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission
Van D. Hipp, Jr. is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Defense International, Inc. (ADI), a Washington, DC based consulting firm specializing in government affairs, business development and public relations. Following the “Tailhook Scandal” Hipp was named by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to be the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Navy, and served in this capacity until January of 1993. In 1990, Hipp was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Reserve Forces and Mobilization). In this capacity, he served as the Army Secretariat’s “point man” for the successful mobilization, and then demobilization, of the Army’s reserve forces for Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
Theresa Hitchens is Editor, Defense News. Ms. Hitchens was initially hired in December 1988 to open a new, one-person bureau in Brussels, Belgium to cover trans-Atlantic relations, the European Union, NATO and international security. She also established regular coverage of Scandinavia and Central Europe. In September, 1993, Ms. Hitchens returned to the home office to cover: arms trade issues; nuclear, chemical and biological weapons matters; and international security. In July, 1996, she was promoted to International Editor, responsible for managing a team of 10 foreign correspondents and overseeing the international content of the paper. .
Christopher Jehn is Assistant Director for National Security, U.S. Congressional Budget Office. He has been an executive with the Center for naval Analyses, the Institute for Defense Analyses, and ICF Kaiser International, Inc. During the Bush Administration he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force management and Personnel.
Joel L. Johnson is Vice President, International, of the Aerospace Industries Association, which represents the major U.S. aerospace manufacturers. Prior positions with the federal government include the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, Deputy Director of the Office of Trade Policy at Treasury, and Professional Staff Member for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Werner Kaelin has been the Head of the Defense Procurement Office at the Embassy of Switzerland since 1982. This office is responsible for technical and contractual aspects of all Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions with Switzerland, the Memorandum of Understanding between Switzerland and the United States concerning Defense Acquisition as well as the coordination of Swiss industry participation in defense procurement from US sources by the Government of Switzerland.
David M. Keithly teaches at the Joint Military Intelligence College, Defense Intelligence Agency. He has published several books and over fifty professional articles in journals and magazines. He has been a consultant to several corporations. He serves on the executive board of the Fulbright Association, and has twice been a Fulbright Fellow in Germany. He was a Fellow of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Bonn, Germany, and a Fellow of the Institute on Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
Robert Keltz is Deputy Director, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Office of the Secretary of Defense. Prior assignments include Director of International Development and Security Assistance, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army, International Affairs; Principal Deputy for Logistics, HQ, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Alexandria, VA (July 1992 – March 1997); Director, U.S. Army Strategic Logistics Agency (July 1990-July 1992); Assistant Director for Transportation, Transportation, Energy and Troop Support Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, United States Army, Washington DC (1984-90); Senior Traffic Manager, HQ, U.S. Army Materiel Command (1980-84); Traffic Management Specialist, HQ, Military Traffic Command, Falls Church, VA (1979-80).
Marvin Klemow is Vice President-Government and Public Affairs, Israel Aircraft Industries International. He is responsible for IAI's activities with the U.S. Government including Congress, Department of Defense, State Department, National Security Council and other U.S. agencies. Prior to joining IAI, he worked for the Boeing Company from 1963-1970, and before that he worked for the Associated Press from 1958-1963.
Richard K. Koehnke is VP and COO for Command Systems Group Inc Sherman Oaks CA and formerly Deputy Director for Tactical Programs, Assistant Secretary of Air Force Acquisition. He is an experienced acquisition executive with extensive experience in the operations and acquisition of tactical systems ranging over the entire spectrum of governmental and industrial activities. In the civil sector, he manages an information technology company providing predicative technology using object attributes to anticipate operating environments enabling counteraction strategies for conventional and terrorist responses. He is experienced in the negotiations and implementation of multi-national acquisition programs, serving in NATO executive leadership positions. His expertise is in tasks including technology industrial base development, prototyping, up-front planning, requirements definition, and concepts development.
Lt.Col. Jouni Koskenmies is the Senior Air Force Representative at the Finnish F-18 Liaison Office, Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. He entered the Finnish Air Force Pilot ROTC in 1978 and was commissioned as First Lieutenant in 1982. His career includes serving in the Lapland Air Command as a fighter pilot (Saab Draken interceptor) and the Finnish Air Force Academy as a flight instructor and Flight Cadet Course Chief. He was accepted to the National War College in 1991, from which he graduated as a general staff officer, whereafter he was seconded to the Finnish Air Force HQ first as a staff officer and then served as Deputy Chief of Plans and Operations Division and subsequently as Acting Chief of Operations for the Finnish Air Force HQ. Lt. Col. Koskenmies has served in his current position since 1997 and will return to Finland at the end of this year.
Marvin Leibstone is the North American editor for the Monch Group, publishers of “Military Technology”, “NATO’s Nations” and “Naval Forces” magazines. He is also the publisher and editor of the defense newsletter “US and Offshore”. His column “North America Outlook” is published in Military Technology magazine every month.
Robert J. Lepito joined the U.S. Army Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program 31 July 1989. Mr. Lepito continues in his responsibility to manage U.S. Army FCT projects involving large caliber weapons, mine-countermine, armor, automotive and engineering equipment, and small water craft. He was commissioned from ROTC as a Second Lieutenant in the Armor Branch of the U.S. Army. He served in the Army for five years, taking civilian employment with the Ford Motor Company from 1978 to 1980, working in the Light Truck Steering and Linkage Division. Mr. Lepito became a Civil Servant in 1980 and worked for the U.S. Army Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Center in the area of immediate smoke screening for armored vehicles and large area screening smoke until 1989.
Captain Richard C. Lewis is Regional Director for Security Assistance to South America and the Middle East for the United States Navy. He manages FMS/FMF programs in excess of $10 billion, over fifty countries, and 400 programs. Captain Lewis was previously Manager International Cooperative programs, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Technology), Director of Armaments Cooperation Atlantic, the Pentagon Washington DC.
Geoff Magnus is Counsellor (Defence Supply), Defence Staff, British Embassy, Washington DC. His principal task is to assist British industry in its efforts to promote UK defense products and services in the US, through either direct sales or a variety of co-operative or teaming arrangements with US industry. In 1989 he was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a First Secretary in UK’s joint Delegations to NATO and the WEU in Brussels. Returning to the Ministry of Defence on promotion in 1994, he became the Director of Contracts within the Procurement Executive (PE) responsible for the commercial aspects of the acquisition of the British Army’s capital equipment. Initially based in London, he moved in March 1996 to the PE’s new headquarters at Abbey Wood, Bristol.
Barbara A. McNamara, SCES, was appointed Deputy Director of the National Security Agency, effective 28 October, 1997. Prior to assuming her current position, Miss McNamara served as the Deputy Director of Operations, National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) from January 1995 to September 1997. She was the Executive Director from February 1994, to January 1995. From December 1993 to February 1994, Miss McNamara was the NSA/CSS Representative to the Department of Defense; Chief of the Office of International Economics and Global Issues in the Operations Organization, 1989-1993; Chief of the Office of Asia and Sub-Sahara Operations, 1988-89. Miss McNamara was presented with the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award in November, 1995.
Eric David Newsom is Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Mr Newsom has spent nearly thirty years working on foreign affairs and national security in the federal government. Prior to rejoining the Department of State, Mr. Newsom was staff director of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriation Committee from January 1989 to March 1994. From 1987 to 1989, he was Legislative Director and Foreign Policy Adviser to Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont. From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Newsom was minority staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and from 1982 to 1984, he was a professional staff member of that committee. He was an officer in the Foreign Service 1967-79.
Peter C. Oleson is the former Assistant Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In that position he was involved in policy and acquisition matters. Previously he served as the senior intelligence policy advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He has worked in industry developing defense and intelligence systems. He is now President of Potomac Strategies & Analysis, Inc., a small consulting firm specializing in technology applications, C3I systems development, and strategic planning. Clients include many defense contractors, leading computing firms, and laboratories. He has served on study groups for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, staff of the Director of Central Intelligence, and others.
David R. (Dave) Oliver, Jr. is the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. Mr. Oliver holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering from the Naval Academy and completed Naval Nuclear Training. His last active duty tour was as Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. His military decorations include the Defense and Navy Distinguished Service Medals and six awards of the Legion of Merit. Previous positions in industry include Manager for Naval Analysis, Westinghouse Electric Systems Group in Baltimore, MD, 1995, and, later, Director for a major international program. He moved to the position of Director of Technology and Business Development for Naval Systems following Northrop Grumman Corporation's acquisition of Westinghouse Baltimore operations.
Lt Col Linda K. Palmer, USAF joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Strategic & Tactical Systems, in September 1999 as the Program Manager of the Foreign Comparative Testing Program—now in its 20th year of international cooperation. Lt Col Palmer previously served as the Air Force’s Research & Development Liaison Officer in Paris, Director and Program Manager of two national laboratories for testing the effectiveness domestic and international electronic defense systems for aircraft, infrared and radar signature production manager, range requirements engineer for testing air-to-air weapons systems, in-plant representative for aerospace programs and assistant professor at the USAF Academy.
George Phillips, a retired Marine Corps Officer, was the Program Manager for Ammunition for the U.S. Marine Corps. He was responsible for procurement and life cycle management of all the Corps' ground ammunition valued at over $6 Billion. Currently he is president of George J. Phillips Associates located in Fairfax, VA., a company specializes in supporting domestic and foreign commercial companies attempting to do Defense business in the U.S.
Rino Pivorotto is Deputy Director Technology Transfer Security & Cooperative Programs Policy Directorate, Department of the Navy, International Programs Office. Mr. Pivirotto is the Department of the Navy point of contact for negotiation of cooperative programs and Data Exchange Agreements. He is the Department of the Navy manager for the Foreign Comparative Testing Program Development of Technology Transfer policy for Department of the Navy systems. Mr. Pivirotto’s previous appointment was Director, Technology Transfer Policy & Foreign Comparative Testing. He was the Department of the Navy representative to the National Disclosure Policy Committee Manager for the Navy Foreign Comparative Testing program, and was responsible for establishment of DoN technology transfer policy. Mr. Pivirotto has been in international program management for over 25 years.
William A. Reinsch, Under Secretary for Export Administration, US Department of Commerce, is charged with administering and enforcing the export control policies and the antiboycott laws of the US government. From 1977-1993, Mr. Reinsch served consecutively as senior Legislative Assistant to the late Senator John D. Heinz and to Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV.
James K. Rogers is the Managing Director - Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company, and Vice President of Bell Helicopter. Mr. Rogers joined Bell in 1975 and has held various managerial and executive positions within the company in International Financing, Financial Planning, Customer Support, and Marketing. Prior to joining Bell he was with General Electric.
John Roos joined Armed Forces Journal International in 1987 as International Editor and became Editor in 1992. Prior to joining the Journal, he served 20 years as an active-duty US Army officer. He is a member of the US Army Infantry OCS Hall of Fame. He was the only defense journalist invited by US Intelligence Subcommittee staffs to comment in a closed session concerning the overhaul of the US intelligence community, and was one of five Americans invited by the German government to participate in the November 1997 NATO expansion conference in Munich.
Lt. Gen. Donald E. Rosenblum, Ret. was commissioned a 2d Lt., Infantry upon graduation from The Citadel. He saw combat as a platoon leader in the Korean War, as an Airborne Battalion Commander on his first Vietnam tour and as DISCOM Commander of the 101st Airborne on his second tour. He was the initial Division Commander of the 24th Division, was Deputy Commander of XVIII Airborne Corps. And commanded First Army. He had three tours in the Pentagon on the Army Staff and with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since retirement he heads his own consulting firm in Savannah, Georgia.
Ingenieur en chef de l’armement Colonel (Armament Corps) Jacques Roujansky graduated from “Ecole Polytechnique” and “Ecole Nationale Superieure des Techniques Avancees”. He has been serving in the French DGA, in the tactical missiles division in R&D and as program manager (MICA, trilateral PAAMS). After attending ICAF he was appointed in 1999 Deputy Defense Cooperation Attache at the French Embassy in Washington DC.
Richard L. Rumpf is President of Rumpf Associates International, and has provided consulting services to a wide range of clients for the last nine years. His clients include Hughes Aircraft Company, 3M, AlliedSignal Aerospace, Ball Aerospace, and Lockheed Martin. In addition, Mr. Rumpf has supported the partnering of a national laboratory (ORCMT/Y-12) with industry and other government entities such as Naval Aviation Depots and Warfare Centers. His services are often requested by the Defense Science Board and the navy Research Advisory Council for special studies. Prior to launching his private business, Mr. Rumpf worked for the U.S. Navy for 12 years, and capped his navy career with service as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy (RE&S).
Dr. William Schneider, Jr. is President of International Planning Services, Inc., a Washington-based international trade and finance advisory firm, and is an Adjunct Fellow of the Hudson Institute. He was formerly Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology (1982-1986). He joined the Administration as the Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs at the Office of management and Budget prior to being nominated as Under Secretary by the President. Dr. Schneider currently serves as Chairman of the Department of State’s Defense Trade Advisory Group. He is a consultant to the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. Prior to joining the House of Representatives staff in 1977, he was a U.S. Senate staff member and a professional staff member of the Hudson Institute.
Dr. George R. Schneiter has worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for over two decades, overseeing strategic and tactical weapon systems and participating in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. He spent four years as a senior analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, and eight years with the Advanced Ballistic Reentry Systems program at The Aerospace Corporation.
Dietrich Sellke is the Director of the German Liaison Office for Defense Materiel USA and Canada, an agency of the German procurement authority BWB (Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement). Mr. Sellke received his Master’s Degree in electrical engineering in 1963. Subsequently he entered upon a career in the German Government Service, where he worked in the area of naval radars and electronic countermeasure and as project manager in national and international navy projects.
Kraig Siracuse is a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He handles procurement issues for the Subcommittee across all services, but predominantly the U.S. Army. Siracuse also handles all the Ammunition accounts, as well as Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles accounts. Prior to working for the Committee, Kraig Siracuse worked for U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato, from New York, who served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and was a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and later the Senate Finance Committee.
Stan Z. Soloway is Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition Reform) and Director, Defense Reform Office. Prior to joining the Department of Defense he was a public affairs and public policy consultant for 20 years. Mr. Soloway's particular expertise includes government contracting, acquisition policies, and outsourcing/ privatization issues. For the seven years prior to joining the Department of Defense, Mr. Soloway assisted the Contract Services Association of America (CSA) in overseeing the association's public affairs and public policy activities. Mr. Soloway was a founding member of the Acquisition Reform Working Group (ARWG) and a member of the Operating Committee of the Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations (CODSIA).
LTC Thomas F. Spellissy is a 1979 graduate of the United States Military Academy. He commanded then Battery A, 6th Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery, Fort Sill, OK and Battery A, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery (Composite 8-inch/MLRS), 1st Armored Division, Germany. LTC Spellissy received a master’s degree in Operations Research from the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. He is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. LTC Spellissy served as a Military Analyst, Combat Analysis Group at the United Central Command. He also served as the Chief, Strategic Studies and Analysis Branch, United States Strategic Command. He commanded 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery (MLRS), III Armored Corps Artillery at Fort Sill, OK. He is currently serving as the Chief, Developmental Test and Evaluation/Foreign Comparative Test, Acquisition and Logistics Center, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
Namik Tan is Counselor, Turkish Embassy, Washington DC. From 1995-1997, Mr. Tan was Chief of Cabinet to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ankara, Turkey. He was First Secretary and Counselor, Turkish Embassy, Washington DC from 1991-1995. Earlier appointments include Deputy Director, Office of the President, Ankara, Turkey (1989 – 1991); First Secretary, Turkish Embassy, Abu Dhabi (1987 – 1989); Second and First Secretary, Turkish Embassy, Moscow (1984 – 1987); Third Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Civil Aviation and Maritime Affairs (1982 – 1984).
Tan Peng Yam is Counselor (Defence Technology), Embassy of Singapore. Mr. Tan was previously Deputy Director, Directorate of Research and Development, Ministry of Defence, Singapore. Other appointments include assistant Director, Technology Cooperation Office, Directorate of Research and Development; Engineer, Defence Science Organisation – MINDEF.
Colonel Pieter van Zyl is presently assigned to the Embassy of South Africa in Washington DC as the Air Attache. During his career in the South African Air Force he flew mostly fighter aircraft and also spent six years at 2 Squadron, the Flying Cheetahs of Korean War fame. Subsequent to that he served as an instructor pilot for a few years before being appointed as Senior Staff Officer: Air Force Projects at SA Air Force Headquarters in Pretoria. He obtained a bachelors degree in Political Science, majoring in International Politics and African Politics. Prior to assuming the assignment as Air Attache, he attended the National Defense University in Washington DC and was awarded a Masters degree in National Resource Strategy in June, 1998.
Peter Varnish, OBE is Director, International Business Development, DERA, Farnborough, UK. Mr. Varnish was earlier Director of Science for Ballistic Missile Defense. His previous responsibilities include managing the UK research program on Naval Stealth, EW, radar and combat weapons systems. He has written numerous papers on these subjects and has been on the Technical Program Committees for radar, military microwaves, and stealth conferences.
Wes Walters is currently the Vice President, Defense for Celsius. He is responsible for defense business development and strategic planning for the U.S. Previously, he was employed by SENTEL in support of the OSD Foreign Comparative Test Program. Wes retired from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army after 20 years of service. His assignments were in field artillery, aviation, acquisition and special operations. He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the Defense Systems Management College where he received Level III certification in Program Management.
David Whiteree is Chairman of IDEEA, Inc., Chief Executive and founder of the ComDef series of exhibitions and symposia. IDEEA, Inc. is a full service international business development and marketing company established in Washington DC. Mr. Whiteree is founder/publisher of “Common Defense Forum”.
Quentin Whiteree is President of IDEEA, Inc. He is the Program Manager for ComDef and runs several other conferences. Mr. Whiteree also manages several organizations’ information management systems.
Dr. Larry M. Wortzel is Director of the Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation. He has been an analyst of Asian affairs, defense and security matters since 1970. As an Army intelligence officer he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he was involved in developing technology security policy. As a military attache in the U.S. Embassy in China he served as a security assistance officer. His published books and articles include CHINA'S MILITARY MODERNIZATION: INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS (Greenwood Press, 1988), which includes his contribution discussing the U.S. export control system.
Virginia Young is Chief, Concepts Laboratory, Research, Development and Engineering Center, United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Ms. Young has over 22 years experience in engineering and management that includes 6 years of industry experience and 16 years working for the U.S. Army in research and development. Her specialty is in robotics and unmanned systems and has served the Army as the Technical Point of Contact on International negotiations and liaisons with Japan, Canada, France, Israel, UK