Speakers

Colonel Gabe Diana enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1996. He deployed to Marine Barracks Panama in 1997 and participated in three Division-level Super Squad Competitions, serving as a team leader on the 2001 winning squad. He was promoted to Sergeant on 2 April 2001, and later graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in History.

From January to December 2002, Colonel Diana graduated from Officer Candidate School, The Basic School, and the Infantry Officer Course. In December 2002, he reported to 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, where he served as Rifle Platoon Commander, 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander, and Mobile Assault Platoon Commander. He supported Operation IRAQI FREEDOM I as a member of Task Force Tarawa, conducted security operations with Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, and deployed for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 04-06.

In January 2006, Colonel Diana joined the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, supporting concept development and live-force experimentation for Distributed Operations. He graduated from Expeditionary Warfare School in 2008 and subsequently augmented OCS as a platoon commander.

In September 2009, he reported to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, serving as H&S Company Commander and later as Battalion Operations Officer. During this assignment, he supported Operation UNIFIED RESPONSE in Haiti and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. In 2012, he completed the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and the Art of War Scholars Program.

In June 2013, Colonel Diana assumed command of Recruiting Station Charleston, West Virginia. The team’s exceptional efforts resulted in the Station earning the Eastern Recruiting Region’s “Most Improved” award in 2015. In 2016, he attended the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), and then reported to III MEF’s G35, where he served as lead planner for ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN, KEY RESOLVE, and MEFEX 19.

From June 2019 to May 2021, he commanded 1st Battalion, 2d Marines, participating in the 2d Marine Division’s MAGTF Warfighting Exercise (MWX) and Unit Deployment Program 20-1. Following this tour, he attended the National War College and was then assigned to the Joint Staff, serving as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director of Regional Operations and Global Force Management. He most recently served as Deputy Director of Operations at Plans, Policy, and Operations.

Colonel Diana earned Master’s Degrees in Military Arts and Sciences through CGSC and SAMS, and in National Security Studies from NWC. He completed MIT’s Seminar XXI National Security Program in 2023. His awards include the Division Super Squad Badge, Father Donald Smythe Award for outstanding military history student at CGSC and the Colonel Richard Christie Writing Award at NWC.

On April 18, 2024, Brigadier General Simon M. Doran assumed duties as Commanding General, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory / Futures Directorate and Vice Chief of Naval Research.

Brigadier General Doran was born in Liverpool, England. He graduated from Purdue University in 1993 and was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon completion of The Basic School, he attended flight training and was designated an FA18 Hornet pilot. From May 1998 to May 2002, he was a pilot in VMFA-251 He attended TOPGUN in May of 2000 and the USMC Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course in Oct of 2000. He deployed with Carrier Air Wing ONE (CVW-1) for two combat deployments aboard the USS John F. Kennedy in 1999 for Operation Southern Watch and in September 2001 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

From June 2002 to June 2005 BGen Doran was an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) where he flew both the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. At TOPGUN he was the subject matter expert in Close Air Support and Air-to-Ground Employment.

From August 2005 to June 2006, he attended the Naval War College and graduated with distinction, earning a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He then returned to the cockpit of the F/A-18 in July 2006 for a tour with the “Red Devils” of VMFA-232. While with the “Red Devils” BGen Doran filled the billets of Operations Officer, Aviation Maintenance Officer, and Executive Officer while doing two cruises with Carrier Air Wing ELEVEN (CVW-11) aboard the USS Nimitz in 2007 and 2008 in support of OIF, OEF and a WESTPAC.

Brigadier General Doran then served aboard the Staff of the Commanding General, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (3d MAW) from 2008 to 2009 as the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing Joint Strike Fighter Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Marine Aviation Training Support Site Officer in Charge. From July 2009 to July 2010, he served as the Tactical Aircraft Integration and Plans Officer for the Deputy Commandant of Aviation.

In September 2010, Brigadier General Doran returned to the Beaufort, SC for duty as the Executive Officer with the “Thunderbolts” of VMFA-251 for a combat deployment aboard the USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) in support of Operations NEW DAWN and ENDURING FREEDOM.

On 29 July 2011, he was privileged to take command of the “Thunderbolts” and lead them on the final deployment of the USS ENTERPRISE supporting combat operations in support of OEF. During his command, VMFA-251 won the Hanson award as the best Marine Fighter Attack Squadron in the Marine Corps.

After relinquishing command of the Thunderbolts in May 2013, Brigadier General Doran attended the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama in 2013-2014 where he graduated with distinction and earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree. From 2014-2015, Brigadier General Doran served as the Executive Officer at The Basic School. He then served on the Joint Staff J-8 Programming, Budget and Analysis Division as the USMC service representative, Readiness and TACAIR Subject Matter Expert.

Brigadier General Doran commanded Marine Aircraft Group ELEVEN (MAG-11) from July 2017 to July 2019. From August 2019 to August 2020, he served as the Assistant Wing Commander of 3d Marine Aircraft Wing.

From August 2020 to July 2022, Brigadier General Doran served as the U.S. Senior National Representative to the Commander U.K Carrier Strike Group on the inaugural operational deployment of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (R-08).

From July 2022 to April 2024, Brigadier General Doran served at the Director of Strategy and Plans, HQMC Plans, Policies and Operations.

Brigadier General Doran’s decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star, three individual Air Medals; two with combat distinguishing device, seven strike flight Air Medal awards, Navy Commendation Medal with two gold stars, and various unit awards. BGen Doran has flown over 600 combat hours in the F/A-18 and F-35B, was the 2012 recipient of the USMC Tailhooker of the Year award and has over 800 landings on nine different aircraft carriers.

​​Lt. Gen. Gregory J. Gagnon​ is ​Commander​, ​U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado​. As commander, he is responsible for over 12,000 Guardians and Airmen focused on generating, presenting and sustaining U.S. Space Force combat-ready space control, global operations and combat service support forces. Moreover, as the USSF service force provider, he is responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Space Operations for sourcing, training, certifying and assessing the readiness of America’s Space Forces to execute service and combatant commander-assigned missions.

Lt. Gen. Gagnon was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Saint Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont. He is a career Intelligence officer with an extensive background in cyberspace operations. Gagnon has commanded at the squadron, group and joint wing levels with one command tour within Afghanistan. He is a fully qualified Joint Staff Officer. His staff tours include Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Space Command, Air Combat Command, U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Space Command. Gagnon has deployed on multiple occasions in support of joint air and special operations. Prior to his current position, Gagnon was the Special Assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.

Colonel Neikirk is a native of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and a 2003 graduate of The Citadel with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is currently serving as the Commanding Officer, 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan.

Colonel Neikirk has served in all three active-duty Marine Divisions of the Fleet Marine Forces. In 2004, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with 2d Battalion, 11th Marines and served as a provisional infantry platoon commander. He participated in Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah as well as combat operations in and around Ramadi and across Anbar province. His unit also secured polling sites during the first free and democratic elections in Iraq, as well as secured a border crossing with Saudi Arabia facilitating the Hajj. In 2005, he deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. During this deployment, he participated in Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief efforts on Leyte Island in the Republic of the Philippines. In 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a Battery Commander for 2d Battalion, 10th Marines. His battery was employed as provisional infantry supporting Regiment Combat Teams 5 and 6 securing Forward Operating Bases Delaram and Dwyer in the Helmand province. In 2012, he was assigned as the Operations Officer for 2d Battalion, 10th Marines. From 2020-2022 he served as the Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, 12th Marines - working closely with the Joint Force in support of sea-denial and sea-control operations.

Colonel Neikirk has also held a variety of billets in the supporting establishment. From 2007 to 2010, he was assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. He initially served as a Series Commander in 3rd Battalion before transferring to Support Battalion where he served as both a Company Commander and battalion Operations Officer. In 2010, he attended the Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia. In 2013, he served as the Staff Secretary for the 2d Marine Division. In 2014, he was assigned to the College of Naval Command and Staff in Newport, Rhode Island. From 2015-2018, he commanded Marine Corps Recruiting Station Raleigh, North Carolina. From 2018-2020, he was assigned to Special Operations Command, Pacific where he served as a deliberate planner before serving as Director of the Commander's Action Group. From 2022-2023, he attended Harvard's Kennedy School of Government as a National Security Fellow.

Colonel Neikirk is a Joint Qualified Officer. His professional military education consists of The Basic School, Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Expeditionary Warfare School, College of Naval Command and Staff, Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Professional Military Education Phase I and II, and Harvard Kennedy School National Security Fellow.

He is married to the love of his life and has two daughters.

Eric Chewning is executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy.  His responsibilities include working alongside the division presidents in leading the company’s strategy for future maritime capabilities and fleet architecture, development of hybrid manned-unmanned teaming strategies; identifying outsourcing partners to accelerate throughput; driving business pursuits for new maritime capabilities; managing enterprise strategic partnerships; managing HII’s Dark Sea Labs Advanced Technology Group, and overseeing enterprise strategy and corporate development.

In addition, he serves as a director on H&B Defence Board of Directors, the HII-Babcock International joint venture in Australia.

He has 25 years of experience across government and industry working issues at the intersection of national security, technology, and business.

Prior to joining HII, he co-led McKinsey & Company’s Aerospace & Defense practice in the Americas.

While in government, Chewning was the chief of staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense. In this role he led the secretary’s executive team, working across the military services, Joint Staff, combatant commanders, and senior civilian political appointees. He also provided counsel and advice to the secretary on all matters concerning the department.

Prior to serving as the chief of staff, Chewning was the deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy. In this capacity, he was the principal advisor for analyzing the capabilities, policies and overall health of America’s defense industrial base.

A former U.S. Army military intelligence officer, he is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Prior to his military service, Chewning was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley & Co. where he focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in the global industrials sector.
Chewning received a MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia where he was recognized as a Shermet Scholar. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in international relations and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Chicago. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and appointed to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Bryan Clark is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute. He studies naval operations, cyber and electromagnetic warfare, autonomous systems, military competitions, and wargaming.

From 2013 to 2019, Mr. Clark was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) where he led studies for the DoD Office of Net Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Defense Advanced Research Products Agency on new technologies and the future of warfare.

Prior to joining CSBA in 2013, Mr. Clark was a career enlisted and officer submariner. His last assignment was as director of the Chief of Naval Operations Commander’s Action Group, where he led development of Navy strategy and implemented new initiatives in electromagnetic spectrum operations, undersea warfare, expeditionary operations, and personnel and readiness management.

Seamus P. Daniels is a fellow for Defense Budget Analysis in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he researches issues related to U.S. and global defense funding, force structure, and military readiness. He has authored publications on trends in the overall U.S. defense budget, the legislative process surrounding defense appropriations, defense strategy and force structure, and NATO burden sharing. Prior to joining CSIS, Mr. Daniels worked for Government Executive Media Group. He holds an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and an AB from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs with minors in Near Eastern studies and Arabic language and culture.

Steven Grundman is a business strategist, public policy analyst, and educator for aerospace and defense, work that he performs across four platforms—Grundman Advisory, a business-strategy consultancy of which he is the founder; the Atlantic Council, where he is a senior fellow; Syracuse University, where he leads the National Security Studies program; and the consultancy Renaissance Strategic Advisors, where he is an Executive in Residence. From 2000 to 2011, Steve was a Vice President and Director of Aerospace and Defense Consulting at Charles River Associates, a global business consultancy. In the 1990s, Mr. Grundman served in a succession of appointments at the US Department of Defense, beginning in the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation and culminating in his appointment as Deputy Under Secretary for Industrial Affairs and Installations. Steve served in the US Army’s 1st Armored Division, was a consular and diplomatic officer in the US Foreign Service, and worked in the executive office and on the research staff of the Center for Naval Analyses. He holds a B.S. Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.

Todd Harrison is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on defense strategy, defense budgeting, and space policy. He has published widely on issues such as the future of US Space Force, trade-offs in defense spending, and military personnel and readiness reform. His work has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Defense One, and Breaking Defense. He has testified before Congress on defense budgeting, space security, and military personnel issues.

Previously, Mr. Harrison served in senior research positions at leading think tanks, including as director of the Defense Budget Analysis program and the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and as senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He has also been a senior vice president and head of research in the defense industry, served as a captain in the US Air Force Reserves, and taught graduate courses on space security and defense budgeting at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Mr. Harrison received a BS and MS in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Jason Levin, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President of Engineering at Anduril Industries. Jason oversees Anduril’s Air Dominance & Strike division, which includes mission autonomy, group 5 autonomous air vehicles, and advanced effects. He is also responsible for flight test, flight software, GNC and operations analysis. Previously, Jason started Anduril’s Counter UAS and Ghost programs. Prior to joining Anduril, Jason served as a Chief Engineer for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. where he worked on small unmanned aerial systems such as MQ-9, MQ-1C, MQ-20, Hypervelocity Projectile, and other IRAD programs. Jason also previously worked at Boeing Research and Technology where he focused on robust adaptive flight control. He has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Victoria Samson is the Chief Director, Space Security and Stability for Secure World Foundation
(SWF) and has nearly thirty years of experience in military space and security issues. At SWF,
she is the editor of Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment, an annual
report that examines counterspace capabilities and programs around the world. Before joining
SWF, Ms. Samson served as a Senior Analyst for the Center for Defense Information (CDI),
where she leveraged her expertise in missile defense, nuclear reductions, and space security
issues to conduct in-depth analysis and media commentary. Prior to her time at CDI, Ms.
Samson was the Senior Policy Associate at the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, a
consortium of arms control groups in the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked on issues
related to ballistic missile defense and nuclear weapons reduction. Before that, she was a
researcher at Riverside Research Institute, where she worked on war-gaming scenarios for the
Missile Defense Agency's Directorate of Intelligence.

Known throughout the space and security arena as a thought leader on policy and budgetary
issues, Ms. Samson is often interviewed by multinational media outlets, including the New York
Times, Space News, and NPR. She was the head of the Security Task Force of the International
Astronautical Federation and is a member of the Space Security Working Group of the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)’s Committee on International
Security and Arms Control (CISAC).

Ms. Samson holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in political science with a specialization in
international relations from UCLA and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in international relations from the
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Jennifer Hlad is managing editor at Defense One and lives in Kailua, Hawaii. Hlad was a Stars and Stripes reporter at the Pentagon and West Coast bureau chief in California before traveling with her Marine Corps husband to posts in Manama and Okinawa, all the while working a mix of assignments with Air Force Magazine, the Daily Beast, Military Times and other publications. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Lauren C. Williams is Business Editor for Defense One. She previously covered defense technology and cybersecurity for FCW and Defense Systems. Williams has reported for various publications on topics from internet culture and health care, politics to crime. She has a master's in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a bachelor's in dietetics from the University of Delaware.