The People Who Made This Happen

Frank Sobchak Editor. Colonel, Retired.

Frank Sobchak (Colonel, Retired) is a PhD candidate in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and has taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Tufts University. He holds a BS in Military History from West Point and a MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University. During his twenty-six-year […]


Matthew D. Morton Primary Author, Colonel

COL Morton grew up in Bethel, Ohio. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1991, he served in a variety of armored cavalry assignments as a company grade officer in Germany, the United States, and the Balkans. Earning a master’s degree in history, COL Morton served as an instructor and assistant professor at […]


James S. Powell Editor. Colonel, Strategic Planner

Jim Powell is a U.S. Army colonel and strategic planner whose past assignments include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with positions in the Pentagon as speechwriter and military advisor. He has served on faculty at the U.S. Army War College and has taught at the School of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, […]


Matthew Zais Editor. Colonel (Retired)

A nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. He is also the Vice President of Government Affairs for Hillwood and HKN Energy Ltd. During his two-decade Army career he served in various infantry assignments including with the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division and as a Ranger School instructor. He […]


Additional Help From: Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Hardman, Executive Officer
Colonel Jason Awadi, Research Fellow
Major Wilson Blythe , Research Fellow
Major Steven Gribschaw, Research Fellow
Michael Bell, Ph.D., College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University, Adjunct Fellow
Derek Harvey, University of South Florida, Adjunct Fellow
Major Kelly Howard, U.S. Army Reserve, Adjunct Fellow
Major General (Ret.) Najim Jabouri, Iraqi Ministry of Interior, Adjunct Fellow
Michael Pregent, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University, Adjunct Fellow
Lieutenant Colonel James Sindle, U.S. Army Reserve, Adjunct Fellow
Major General (Ret.) Aziz Swaidy, Iraqi Army, Adjunct Fellow
Research Assistants (2014): Cadet Andrew Mohr, Jalil Riahi, Lindsey Schmidt, Dillon Shoemaker, and Andrew Wickland
Research Assistants (2014): Maura Guyler, Christopher Hartnett, Richard Hulver, Ph.D., Alexis Knutsen, Kelsey Marron, Ashley Rhoades, Alexander Teague, Kate Tietzen, and Cameron Zinsou
Research Assistants (2014): Catherine Eatherton, Chasen Glatz
William Schirano, Project Management
Jack Connor, Engineering