NucleCast

Latest Episodes:

Raphael Cohen, Ph.D. - Big Ideas on War in Ukraine, Recruitment and Tri polarity Jul 27, 2023

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Raphael "Rafi" Cohen is the director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE, and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He works on a broad range of defense and foreign policy issues, including defense strategy and force planning, Middle East and European security and civil-military relations.

Cohen previously held research fellowships at the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute and the National Defense University’s Center for Complex Operations. He has written for a variety of forums, including the Journal of Strategic Studies, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Fox News, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, The Hill, The National Interest and other publications. He also served as a staffer on the Congressionally-appointed 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission and is now the deputy executive director of the 2023 National Defense Strategy Commission.

A military intelligence branched lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Cohen has held a variety of command and staff positions in both the active and reserve components, including during two combat tours in Iraq from 2005 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008. He holds B.A. magna cum laude in government from Harvard University and an M.A. in security studies and Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University.

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Brian Green - Unpacking Deterrence Strategy and Missile Defense Jul 25, 2023

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Brian Green is a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project. Prior to his current position, he was the founder and principal at Impact Strategies, a national security consulting firm, and served as Executive Director of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Washington Operations Office, with planning and execution responsibilities for the company’s defense business development and government affairs in the DC area. Prior to his work at Aerojet, he was the Director of Strategic Force Assessments at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc.

In his government service, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, with oversight and policy development responsibilities for US nuclear forces, missile defense, military space, information operations, and arms control. He also served as the staff lead for the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the lead for strategic programs on the House Armed Services Committee, in which he had legislative and oversight responsibilities for nuclear, missile defense, and military space programs. Prior to those assignments, he served on the staff of the Air Force Association, the Aerospace Education Foundation, and the Heritage Foundation.

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Carl Rhodes, Ph.D. - Australia's Defense Strategic Review Jul 20, 2023

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Carl Rhodes Ph.D. is the founder of Robust Policy, a Canberra-based business that provides evidence-based analysis on defense topics. Carl worked at RAND Corporation from 1997-2021, including four years as director of RAND Australia. Prior to moving to Australia, Carl spent twenty years as a researcher and manager in RAND’s Project AIR FORCE. His research portfolio has covered topics including long-range strike, ISR, sovereign weapons, nuclear deterrence, unmanned systems, and stressors facing 20th Air Force.

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Wendy Baca - From the Manhattan Project to Present: Preserving and Transferring Knowledge to the Newest Generation Jul 18, 2023

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Wendy Baca started her career in 1987 with the Department of Energy in what was then known as the Albuquerque Operations Office. She was hired to fill the W87-1 Small Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (SICBM) Program Engineer position where one of her first tasks was to issue the Phase 3, Development Engineering, authorization to the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex. Although the program was canceled a short time later, she continued to work in numerous Federal Program Manager roles for the next 25 years. The majority of Wendy’s work focused on the ICBM programs where she was also the Director of the DOE’s and later, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s), ICBM Division for 9 years. During that time, her primary focus was the First Production Unit through completion of the W87 Alt 342, which was also referred to as the W87 Life Extension Program. Wendy’s other Federal Program Manager positions included the Pantex Stage Right Program, the AT-400A Pit Container, the DOE/NNSA Dismantlement Program, Plutonium Sustainment, and the Modernization Programs.

After retiring from DOE/NNSA in 2012, Wendy worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as an Executive Advisor in the Principal Associate Directorate for the Weapons Program. In 2015, Wendy became the Director of the Integrated Program Management Office in the Plutonium Science and Manufacturing Division where she focused on the ongoing LANL Production Agency efforts to include plutonium pits.

Wendy worked at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) from February 2017 until October 2022. She started in the Military Liaison Department as the W80-1/W84 Field Engineer and she finished her SNL career as the Manager of the Accident Response Group and Legacy Hardware Laboratory Department.

In 2021, Wendy joined TechSource Inc’s Weapons Knowledge Preservation and Transfer Program where she works with the team to develop and deliver instructional modules for new and mid-career employees across the Nuclear Security Enterprise. As a Subject-Matter-Expert, Wendy provides lessons learned, experiences, and perspectives regarding the NNSA’s Weapons Acquisition Process that she has gained over the past 35 years.

Since November 2022, Wendy has also been a consultant with MELE Associates where she is part of the NNSA’s Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation “Reserve Force” which is a cadre of retired employees that provides expertise and support to the NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team.

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Bradley T. Gericke, Ph.D. Major General, U.S. Army, Ret. - The Role of the Army in the Asia Pacific Region Jul 13, 2023

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Brad is an accomplished senior leader who enjoys a reputation for original thinking and strategic acumen coupled with an affirmative leadership approach. He holds a doctorate from Vanderbilt University and is a graduate of the National War College. Most recently Brad served as the Army’s longest-tenured Senior Strategist and Chief of Plans, Brad exercised wide-ranging and global responsibilities across the Army. With his enterprise-wide authorities Brad directly advised Army executives as he led the Army’s formal outreach to international military partners to fashion agreements that enhanced the readiness of the Army through better-value investment and effective basing of high demand logistics and equipment footprints. The programs Bradinitiated delivered capabilities in the form of innovative solutions that leveraged current Army force designs with emerging technologies, new concepts, and effective alignment of institutional priorities.

Charged by Army leaders to “own the future” Brad built new structure models validated through scenario-driven experiments to maximize Army capabilities and operations. He refashioned planning and training methods to improve the Army’s counter-WMD readiness; wrote orders for Army-wide implementation; and regularly advised senior leaders regarding emerging trends affecting national defense, international affairs, and security policy.

Brad led the Pentagon’s primary planning and force posture forums. He regularly consulted with senior DoD civilian and military leaders across defense organizations to build DoD’s first and unique worldwide plans that integrated the DoD’s crisis responses to cross-domain challenges posed by disruptive technologies and the rapid global transfer of information.

In addition to his strategy and leadership experience, Brad served as a special assistant to multiple senior executives. An accomplished writer, he published capstone Army documents and has written numerous professional essays, three college instructor resource manuals, two urban warfare anthologies, and a military biography. He continues to work as a senior mentor to the Army and as an executive consultant.

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Juan Vitali, Ph.D. - The Importance of Advancing Nuclear Energy Jul 11, 2023

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Juan Vitali is the Assistant Director Nuclear Energy Innovation at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White House. Previously, he was the Army’s Nuclear Engineer and Chief of the Nuclear Power Branch where he led a team of engineers to shape conditions for the adoption of nuclear power by the Army. He was the chief concept architect for the development of mobile nuclear power plant for ground operations. He was the Senior Advisor to the Chief of Engineers on Nuclear Power Matters. Juan was Principal Research Faculty for eight years at Georgia Tech Research Institute and was Director of the Washington Office for the Electro-Optics Environment and Materials Laboratory.

Throughout his career, Juan has maintained a dedication to excellence not only in science and technology but, in general, quietly effecting change through increasing leadership roles. In 2000, his work in halon replacements earned him the International US-EPA Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award. Juan completed studies at National Defense University/Eisenhower Schooland obtained a master’s degree in National Security Studies and Resource Strategy in 2013. Juan is a Harvard University Senior Executive Fellow. Juan holds a Doctorate in Engineering Physics/Nuclear Engineering(1992), a Master of Engineering (1987) and a bachelor’s degree Cum Laude in Engineering Physics/Nuclear Engineering (1984), all from the University of Florida. Juan is married to the former Kathryn Bowler of Needham, MA.

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Major Frank W. Perry, Jr. - Helos in the Missile Field Jul 06, 2023

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Major Frank W. Perry, Jr. is the Chief, Helicopter Operations Division, Twentieth Air Force. In this position Major Perry advises the Commander, Twentieth Air Force on operational and administrative issues for the Air Force’s sole Helicopter Group. He leads planning, coordination, and Operational Plan support for three operational helicopter squadrons, integrating USSTRATCOM and USNORTHCOM missions for over 400 personnel.

Prior to this assignment, Major Perry was a student at Air Command and Staff College in Air University. There he performed studies as part of the Russia Research Task Force, garnering the Thomas “Dutch” Miller Award for most relevant research in his field.

Major Perry enlisted in the Air Force as a Ground Radio Technician in 2004, receiving his commission through Officer Training School in 2009. Following graduation, he has served in a variety of operational assignments as a UH-1N instructor pilot, and subsequently as a Mi-17 instructor and evaluator pilot. Major Perry has deployed in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM, and FREEDOM’S SENTINEL.

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Independence Day Special Jul 04, 2023

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The ANWA Deterrence Center wishes you a safe and happy 4th of July.

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Tom Karako - Filling in the Gaps of Missile Defense Jun 29, 2023

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Thomas Karako is a senior fellow with the International Security Program and the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he arrived in 2014. His research focuses on national security, missile defense, nuclear deterrence, and public law. In 2010–2011, he was an American Political Science Association congressional fellow, working with the professional staff of the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on U.S. strategic forces policy, nonproliferation, and NATO. Dr. Karako is also currently a fellow with the Institute for Politics and Strategy of Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD from Claremont Graduate University and his BA from the University of Dallas.

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Eric Edelman - The New Makers of Modern Strategy and the Future of Strategic Deterrence Jun 27, 2023

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Ambassador Eric S. Edelman is Counselor at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He retired as a career minister from the U.S. Foreign Service on May 1, 2009. He has served in senior positions at the Departments of State and Defense as well as the White House, where he led organizations providing analysis, strategy, policy development, security services, trade advocacy, public outreach, citizen services, and congressional relations. As undersecretary of defense for policy (August 2005-January 2009), he was DoD's senior policy official, overseeing strategy development with global responsibility for bilateral defense relations, war plans, special operations forces, homeland defense, missile defense, nuclear weapons and arms control policies, counterproliferation, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, arms sales, and defense trade controls.

He served as U.S. ambassador to Finland in the Clinton administration and Turkey in the Bush administration and was Vice President Cheney's principal deputy assistant for national security affairs. He was chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, special assistant to Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Robert Kimmitt, and special assistant to Secretary of State George Shultz.

His other assignments included the State Department Operations Center, Prague, Moscow, and Tel Aviv, where he was a member of the U.S. Middle East delegation to the West Bank/Gaza autonomy talks.

Ambassador Edelman has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award,the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and several Department of State Superior Honor Awards. In 2010, he was named a knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honor.

Ambassador Edelman serves as the Chair of the National Defense Strategy Commission and on the bipartisan board of directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

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