Colonel Aaron J. Cook is the Division Chief for the Force Sustainment Division, Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He is responsible for Army readiness, which includes providing analysis of training requirements, force structure changes and adjustments to personnel unit strengths in support of Army priorities and requirements to include operational unit rotations and deployments for over 150,000 logistics, medical and adjutant general Soldiers. A native of Illinois, he enlisted in the National Guard in 1988 as a Chemical Operations Specialist. In 1992, he graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Eastern Illinois University with a BS in Business and Accounting and was commissioned into active duty in the Quartermaster Corps as an Armor Officer. In 2003, he received his MS in Logistics and subsequently served in multiple Army and Department of Defense assignments to include the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Army Materiel Command (AMC) and the Human Resources Command (HRC). His joint experience includes serving at the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) and combat experience in Iraq and Qatar.
Lieutenant Colonel Gil Ferguson is a career Special Forces officer from Terry, Mississippi currently assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Originally commissioned in 1990 as an Infantry Officer, Gil attended the US Air Force Academy and was cross-commissioned into the Army upon graduation. Following a tour at Fort Campbell, KY Gil separated from service for several years, returned to graduate school, and taught US history before returning to active duty as a Special Forces Officer. Gil served with 7th Special Forces Group and has commanded at all levels from Captain through Lieutenant Colonel. Gil has Special Operations experience throughout Latin America and the Middle East. He earned an M.A. in American History from Mississippi College.
Lieutenant Colonel Jasper Jeffers is an Infantry officer from Ripplemead, VA currently assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command. He received his commission in 1996 through ROTC at Virginia Tech. He has served in a variety of Infantry and Special Operations units throughout his career, commanding Infantry and Ranger Units as a Captain, and commanding Special Operations units as a Major and Lieutenant Colonel. LTC Jeffers’ has significant joint and inter-agency operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, throughout the Middle East, and in North and West Africa. Lieutenant Colonel Jeffers earned a M.A. in Security Management from Webster University and received his B.A. from Virginia Tech, where he majored in Political Science.
Lieutenant Colonel Anthony (Tony) Poole is a native of Georgia. LTC Poole received his commission as an Infantry officer through the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School in 1994 and later in 2002, transitioned into the Military Intelligence Corps. Tony’s 20 years of military service includes numerous leadership and staff positions that range from his first assignment as an Infantry Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon Leader through to his most recent assignment as the Commander of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion. His overseas experiences include missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq and the Republic of Georgia. Tony’s civilian education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Excelsior College, Albany, New York and a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies.
Lieutenant Commander Brian Schulz was commissioned as a Naval Cryptologist in 2002, after earning a BS in Quantitative Economics from the US Naval Academy. A Texas native, he has deployed throughout the world onboard submarines, surface ships, reconnaissance aircraft, and ashore with joint special operations forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Humanitarian Aid Disaster Relief operations. He has broad interagency and intelligence community experience and holds Navy qualification designations in Information, Space, Cyber, and Joint Warfare. He earned a MS in Systems Engineering and a MA in Strategic Intelligence, and was an Associate Fellow with the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group, focused on the emergence of directed energy and hypersonic weapons. He currently serves as a Navy Executive Fellow with the Duke Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Colonel Geoff Stewart joined the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer in 1992 after graduating from Virginia Tech with a BA in Political Science. Later in 2004 he earned a MA in Business and Organizational Security from Webster University. He served in Military Police units providing security, law and order at U.S. Military installations in Germany, South Korea, and the Continental United States. Operational deployments include enforcing the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia-Herzegovina, supporting transition training of Iraqi Police forces in Baghdad, Iraq, and advising security development for the Afghan Ministry of Interior in Kabul, Afghanistan. His most recent experience includes serving in the Pentagon as Assistant Deputy Director of Operations in the National Military Command Center, Joint Staff, and commanding a specialized Criminal Investigations unit based at Fort Bragg, NC