** Bio updated for 2022

·        LTG Charles Hooper, U.S. Army (Ret.) - Board Chairman (bio available here)

·        BG Joe Rank, U.S. Army (Ret.) (bio available here)

·        CAPT Rob Palm, US Navy (Ret.) – President **

·        Col. Pete Larsen, USAF - Vice President

·        Jeff Hoffmann, USAFR (Ret.) – Treasurer **

·        Major Lauren Serrano, USMC – Secretary

·        Col. John B. Haseman, U.S. Army (Ret.)- Content Editor, FAOA Journal **

·        LCDR Graham Plaster, USNR - Journal Editor-in-Chief

·        Major Eric Hovey, USMC - Social Media and Outreach**

·        Lt. Col. Andrus “Wes” Chaney, U.S. Army **

·        Col. Robert Wagner, U.S. Army (Ret.) – Webmaster

·        Col. Rob Timm, U.S. Army (Ret.)

·       Lt. Col. Lauren Guibert, USAF

** PRESIDENT

Rob Palm, CAPT, USN (RET), European FAO

Rob, a Baltimore native, currently works and lives with his family in Arlington, VA.  During his naval career, he served as a flight officer in F14Ds and transitioned to the Navy’s Foreign Area Officer corps in 2005. He has 20 years’ experience living and working in Italy, Israel, Qatar and Greece, where he last served as the SDO/DATT (Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché) in Athens.  He retired overseas, starting his second career focusing on the promotion of U.S. economic influence in SE Europe. In 2019 he established RxP International, to consult in the maritime, defense and technology sectors for the Mediterranean and beyond.  He returned with his family to the USA in July 2021, assuming the role as Senior Director of International Business Development at HawkEye 360, the World’s foremost commercial RF signals data & satellite company. Rob is a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, the University of San Diego and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has been a member of the FAOA since 2013.

VICE PRESIDENT
Pete Larsen, Col, USAF, Mid East  FAO

Pete Larsen is a Middle East Foreign Area Officer from the United States Air Force. He currently serves at the White House as the National Security Council’s Director for South Asia Security Affairs. Pete’s previous assignments include the Joint Staff J5’s South Asia Division Chief, political military advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau at the Department of State, commander of the 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron, where he led the squadron’s Building Partnerships mission within the AFRICOM area of responsibility, and Assistant Air Attaché to Israel. Pete has served as a Middle East FAO since 2010. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew, and German and is currently a doctoral student at the Schar School of Policy and Government.

** TREASURER and CHAIR, FAO HERITAGE PENTAGON EXHIBIT
Jeffrey S. Hoffmann, USAFR (Ret.) and Civilian, China/Europe-Russia/Middle East FAO 

Retired War College military reservist with over 20 years of work experience in the federal government, starting in the United States Senate and Congressional Affairs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the late 90’s – intelligence, security cooperation/foreign liaison, and political military affairs FAO-focused assignments.  Mr. Hoffmann served 7 years as a Senior Intel Officer, including Foreign Materiel Acquisition – managed Ops in Europe, the Pacific, and Middle East, one mission led to first-time reporting in the President’s Daily Brief and he was former Working Group Vice Chair for Ret. United States Army Lieutenant General Mike Flynn's Defense Intelligence Agency VISION 2020 that stood-up the integrated intelligence centers.  Jeff has been employed with Booz Allen Hamilton since February 2015.  In 2017, he received the ODNI Director’s National Intelligence Professional Award for improving mission analytics and collection tradecraft.  Jeff recently returned to Virginia in October 2021, following assignment that helped developed cyber threat intelligence capabilities for the U.S. European Command - J2X in the United Kingdom (UK).  Alongside FAO Cyber work in the UK, over the past two years, Jeff completed research on emerging technologies with the University of Oxford Saïd Business School and Kings College London Department of War Studies - research was supported by FAOA Forum in Europe titled, "Preparing FAOs for the Great Power Competition in the Transatlantic."  The research complements past graduate level education from George Mason University in 2007 where he was also a Senior Research Associate for the Political Instability Task Force (Somalia).  Mr. Hoffmann remains active with several other organizations like the Atlantic Council, the Cipher Brief (new FAOA Partner), AFCEA International, and former member of the UN Association/National Capital Area Board of Directors, including past co-Chair of their Peace & Security Committee.

** SECRETARY
Lauren Serrano, Maj, USMC, Middle East FAO

Major Serrano (formerly Reisinger) is a Middle East Foreign Area Officer from the United States Marine Corps. She is currently serving as the Aide-De-Camp to the Chief of Naval Operations. Lauren has completed operational tours with CI/HUMINT Company, 3d Intelligence Battalion in Okinawa, Japan, as well as the Office of Security Cooperation - Iraq (OSC-I). She completed a fellowship in the Junior Officer’s Strategic Intelligence Program (JOSIP), followed by Fleet tours as Intelligence Fusion officer on the I Marine Expeditionary Force staff in Camp Pendleton, California. Major Serrano then served as a Company Commander and Battalion Operations Officer at the Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion, National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland. She is the recipient of the 2014 Chase writing award and the 2020 Hogaboom Leadership writing award from the Marine Corps Association, and the 2015 LtCol Kuszewski NIU writing award recipient for the best Master’s Thesis on the Operations-Intelligence Relationship. Major Serrano is published in the Marine Corps Gazette, Small Wars Journal, and Foreign Area Officer Association Journal.

EDITOR IN CHIEF, FAOA Journal of International Affairs
Graham Plaster, LCDR, USNR, Middle East FAO
Graham has served on the FAOA Board of Governors since 2010 in various roles including Webmaster, Secretary, Treasurer, and currently as Journal Editor in Chief. Graham’s last active duty FAO assignment was as a Liaison Officer supporting US military deployed to UN Peacekeeping missions in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. He previously served as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the USS Reuben James (FFG 57) out of Pearl Harbor, deploying in support of OIF and OEF. He also served as Assistant Dean of Students at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. After selection as a Naval Foreign Area Officer, he studied Arabic at DLI and while in Monterey, he became webmaster for the Foreign Area Officer Association of Monterey. He is co-author and co-editor of the book, "In the Shadow of Greatness" which was on the Navy's official reading list and praised by Tom Brokaw as a "must read for all Americans". Graham was the Senior Policy Adviser for Culture Training as a defense contractor with the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) and is also the CEO of The Intelligence Community Inc., a social network of more than 100,000 defense and intelligence professionals.

** CONTENT EDITOR OF THE FAO ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
John Haseman, COL, USA (Ret.), Southeast Asia FAO
Colonel Haseman is a member of the DIA Defense Attaché Service Hall of Fame. He was commissioned in the Military Intelligence Branch from ROTC, University of Missouri, in 1963. He served 2 ½ years in combat in Vietnam, with the 9th Infantry Division (1967-1968) and as a district-level advisor in the Mekong Delta, during which he was one of the few MI Branch officers to be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (1971-1973).  Strongly influenced by his advisory duty, he entered the Army FAO program in 1974, shortly after it was established, and from 1974 through his retirement in January 1995 he “single tracked” as a FAO. His assignments included Commander Udorn Field Office, 500th MI Group, Udornthani, Thailand (1974-75); Red Team War-Gamer, Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS (1975-1976); Army Division Chief, U.S. Defense Liaison Group Jakarta, Indonesia (1978-1981); Assistant Army Attaché to Indonesia (1982-1985); Senior Analyst for Southeast Asia, ACSI, Army HQ (1985-1986); Defense and Army Attaché, Rangoon, Burma (1987-1990); and Defense and Army Attaché, Jakarta, Indonesia (1990-1994). He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, University of Missouri; a Master of Public Administration Degree, University of Kansas; and Master of Military Art and Science, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Colonel Haseman is author or co-author of four books and numerous book chapters dealing with Thailand and Indonesia; more than 250 of his news and analytical articles on Southeast Asia political-military subjects have been published in journals in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is near-fluent in the Indonesian language and also speaks Thai and Burmese. He is author of a forthcoming book "District Advisor in the Mekong Delta: In the Mouth of the Dragon," McFarland Publishing. Colonel Haseman has been a member of the FAO Association Board of Governors since 2009. He resides in Colorado.

AT-LARGE BOG MEMBERS and FAOA CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES

Daniel P. Brownlee, COL, USA (Ret.), Middle East FAO
Dan Brownlee was re-elected after completing his first term as Vice President for the FAOA BOG. He served for over 29 years as a Special Forces and Middle East Foreign Area Officer and retired as a colonel in 2002. His Special Forces assignments include the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Germany and service at all echelons through command of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. FAO assignments include security cooperation positions in OMC, Cairo, MAP Jordan and the as co-commander of the joint and combined Military Coordination Center (Operation Provide Comfort), Zakho, Iraq. Other assignments include the 82nd Airborne and 24th Mechanized Infantry Divisions, Chief, Special Operations Division, Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Senior Service College Fellow at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Upon retirement from the Army he served in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the Program Coordinator and Chief of Staff for the Northrop Grumman Foreign Military Sales contract in support of the Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program. In 2004 he accepted the position as regional marketing and business development manager for the Raytheon Company based in Cairo, Egypt responsible for North Africa and the Levant. In 2009 he joined the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy as the Policy Representative to United States Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany. Subsequent Policy assignments included Africa Policy, Partnership and Stability Operations, Ministerial Advisor- Afghanistan and Counternarcotics and Global Threats. His last previous and likely last compensated position was as a consultant to the UAE Ministry of Defense, 2017-2018. He is semi-retired living in Yorktown, Virginia.

Robert A. Wagner, COL, USA (Ret.), Latin America FAO

Colonel (Retired) Robert Wagner “Wags” graduated from West Point in 1990 as an Artillery Officer and went on to serve in Fort Benning GA and Fort Wainwright AK. Wags became a FAO in 1998.  He subsequently served in both security cooperation and attaché positions in Argentina, Mexico, Jamaica, Iraq, El Salvador and Colombia.  Wags served two CONUS assignments as a FAO: one in the Joint Staff J5 and one at U.S. Army South where he retired in 2019.  He most recently served as a Program Manager on a DSCA contract to conduct a strategic evaluation of DoD International Professional Military Education enterprise.  Wags was elected to the BOG in November 2021 and seeks to strengthen the global FAO network to allow for improved advocacy both in and out of uniform.

** Andrus W. (Wes) Chaney, LTC, USA, sub-Saharan Africa FAO

Lieutenant Colonel Wes Chaney was commissioned in the Infantry Branch from ROTC, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in 2001. He served in Kosovo under Task Force Falcon, in Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom I. He was awarded the Purple Heart in Iraq for wounds received during combat operations.  Upon completion of Company Command Wes transferred to FAO and became a sub-Saharan Africa FAO. His assignments as a FAO include chief, Security Cooperation Office US Embassy Djibouti; branch chief, Eastern and Southern Africa, U.S. Army Africa; and senior defense official / defense attaché US Embassy Abidjan.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, a Masters of Public Policy from Johns Hopkins, and is currently enrolled in the distance learning U.S. Army War College.

Eric S. Hovey, Maj, USMC, Africa FAO

Major Hovey became an Africa Foreign Area Officer in 2020. Prior to becoming a FAO, he commissioned from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) NROTC program, graduating in 2009 with a double-major in Anthropology and Philosophy. He has served as both a squadron and battalion intelligence officer, deploying to both United States Indo-Pacific Command and European Command. Major Hovey has also worked at Naval Air Systems Command and Naval Sea Systems Command and is certified as a Level 3 Program Manager from Defense Acquisitions University. He has two master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, first in Program Management and then in Regional Security Studies (with distinction). He has published numerous articles on military subjects in the Marine Corps Gazette, Proceedings, and Small Wars Journal. Major Hovey is slated to be the Marine Attaché for Liberia in 2022.

MONTEREY REPRESENTATIVE
Mark Chakwin, COL, USA (Ret.), China FAO
Mark was appointed to the FAO Association Board in 2014 to fill an unexpected vacancy and now serves a full elected term. He coordinates with the U.S. Army FAO Chair at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and with the U.S. Army FAO Program Director at Defense Language Institute (DLI) and serves as a mentor to incoming officers attending DLI and NPS. His final assignment was as the U.S. Army FAO Chair and Senior Military Representative to NPS, Monterey California. In addition to mentoring new FAOs from all services, preparing and teaching graduate program classes, and advising the School’s President on Army-related issues, he worked with to design, setup, manage, and then serve as senior advisor to, the Joint Senior FAO Program. Mark served as the Defense and Army Attaché and the Security Assistance Officer, U.S. Embassy Hanoi, Vietnam. Earlier, he was the Chief, Asia Branch at JCS Directorate for Intelligence, and he also served as the Asia-Pacific Team Chief on the G2 army staff at the Pentagon. Colonel Chakwin was also Assistant Professor at the National Defense Intelligence College, and a guest lecturer to several U.S. Army War College classes. Mark resides in Monterey, CA.