Strategy and Warfare Center Symposium Biographies • United States Air Force Academy

SWC Symposium 2026 Biographies

Strategy and Warfare Center Symposium

General Gregory M. Guillot

Keynote Speaker

Gen.

Gregory M. Guillot

U.S. Air Force

Gen. Gregory M. Guillot

Keynote SpeakerGen. Gregory M. Guillot is Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. USNORTHCOM conducts homeland defense, civil support and security cooperation to defend and secure the United States and its interests. NORAD conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.

When small wars shape great power competition

Panel 1

Dr.

Gregory Johnson

Fox Senior Research Fellow

Dr. Gregory Johnson

Panel 1 SpeakerDr. Johnsen is the Fox Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Future Conflict, USAFA, and author of The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America’s War in Arabia. A Princeton PhD, he served two years on the UN Security Council’s Yemen Panel of Experts and was lead writer for the congressionally mandated Syria Study Group in 2019.

Ms.

Andrea Doyle

State Department Visiting Professor

Ms. Andrea Doyle

Panel 1 SpeakerMs. Doyle is the Department of State Visiting Professor of Political Science at USAFA. A Foreign Service Political Officer with postings across Latin America and Southeast Asia, she has also served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Marine Corps Forces South and with the NORTHCOM J3 Directorate of Operations.

SOUTHCOM Representative

SOUTHCOM Representative

Panel 1 SpeakerBiography coming soon

Disruption in the air: multi-domain defense against distributed threats

Panel 2

Col.

Kevin “Stoney” Stonerook

U.S. Army

Col. Kevin 'Stoney' Stonerook

Panel 2 SpeakerCol. Stonerook is the Deputy Commander for Joint Task Force Gold, responsible for planning and implementing Integrated Air and Missile Defense Capabilities for the Homeland. He is the former commander for the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in US Forces Korea and has 26 years of experience as an Army Air Defense officer.

Lt. Col.

Leon Lipka

U.S. Marine Corps

Lt. Col. Leon Lipka

Panel 2 SpeakerLt. Col. Lipka leads NORTHCOM’s quick-reaction Counter-UAS Fly Away Kit and spearheads synchronization of C-UAS operations across the NORTHCOM area of operations. He has deployed in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Mr.

Lito Villanueva

Senior Strategic Advisor, Ukraine

Mr. Lito Villanueva

Panel 2 SpeakerMr. Villanueva has served as a UAS Team Leader and Joint Communicator for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 4 years active duty during Russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine. most recent deployment was with the 3rd Ukrainian Special Operations Forces. His Prior to that, he was an enlisted Air Force veteran, U.S. Army communicator, and JSOC contractor with 3 tours to Afghanistan.

Air operations in multi-domain competition

Warfighter Fireside Chat

Maj. Gen.

Joseph “Solo” Kunkel

U.S. Air Force

Maj. Gen. Joseph 'Solo' Kunkel

Warfighter Fireside ChatMaj. Gen. Kunkel leads force design, capability development, and disruptive technology integration for AF/A5/7I at the Pentagon. A command pilot with over 2,776 flying hours, he is an F-15E and F-22 Raptor veteran who has commanded at the wing level twice, including the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

Lt. Col.

Joseph “Paveway” Bledsoe III

U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Joseph 'Paveway' Bledsoe III

Warfighter Fireside ChatLt. Col. Bledsoe is an Air Force Intermediate Development Education Fellow at the Institute for Future Conflict, USAFA, focusing on airpower and Agile Combat Employment. A qualified evaluator pilot in the F-15E and F-15SG with over 1,500 flight hours and 344 combat hours, he is also a 2025 Aspen Security Forum Rising Leader Fellow.

Maj.

Trisdon “Mega” Miller

U.S. Air Force

Maj. Trisdon 'Mega' Miller

Warfighter Fireside ChatMaj. Miller is an Electronic Warfare Officer and Evaluator Mission Crew Commander on the EA-37B COMPASS CALL, with experience as lead instructor for the Weapons Instructor Course and Electronic Warfare Branch Chief at the Air Force Warfare Center, Nellis AFB.

Cyber operations across peace, gray zone, and war

Panel 3

Col. (Ret.)

Omar Velasco

Director, DAF Capture & Cyber

Col. (Ret.) Omar Velasco

Panel 3 SpeakerCol. (Ret.) Velasco is a Director at Credence and retired Air Force Colonel with 27 years of experience in cyberspace operations, enterprise IT, and cybersecurity. A 1997 USAFA graduate, his cyber assignments include Commander of the 26th Network Operations Squadron and Vice Commander of the 67th Cyberspace Wing.

Lt. Col.

Michael Scott

U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Michael Scott

Panel 3 SpeakerLt. Col. Scott commands the 341st Cyberspace Operations Squadron at Ft. George G. Meade, presenting Information Warfare Airmen to USCYBERCOM’s Cyber National Mission Force. An Information Operations Officer and former UH-1N and MQ-9A pilot, he commissioned from USAFA in 2007.

Special Agent

Air Force OSI

U.S. Air Force

Special Agent Air Force OSI

Panel 3 SpeakerOur AFOSI agent participant has extensive experience in law enforcement and counterintelligence operations across the southern border, Europe, and the Middle East. He currently specializes in embedding AI directly into mission systems strategically and at the edge for the Intelligence Community and DoW.

Protecting yourself in the cognitive domain

Workshop

Lt. Col.

Melissa McLain

U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Melissa McLain

Workshop SpeakerLt. Col. McLain is a second-year PhD student in the Computer and Cognitive Sciences program at Colorado University – Boulder. She also leads development of Resilience Against Disinformation programs for the Air Force.

Machines in command: the operational reality of ai-enabled kill webs

Panel 4

Dr.

Chad Mello

Kaminski Endowed Chair

Panel 4 SpeakerDr. Mello is an Assistant Professor of Computer & Cyber Sciences at USAFA, where he directs CS 472 Autonomous Systems Integration—an advanced course merging machine learning with autonomous drones and ground vehicles to develop applied solutions to real-world problems.

Capt.

Moriah “Money” Niehaus

U.S. Air Force

Capt. Moriah 'Money' Niehaus

Panel 4 SpeakerCapt. Niehaus is the Weapons & Tactics Flight Commander for the 74th ISR Squadron, Delta 7, with a background spanning ISR, Missile Warning, and Electromagnetic Warfare. A qualified Intel Weapons Officer, she brings cross-domain sensing and targeting expertise to the joint force.

Special Agent

Air Force OSI

U.S. Air Force

Special Agent Air Force OSI

Panel 3 SpeakerOur AFOSI agent participant has extensive experience in law enforcement and counterintelligence operations across the southern border, Europe, and the Middle East. He currently specializes in embedding AI directly into mission systems strategically and at the edge for the Intelligence Community and DoW.

Orbital warfare: securing the ultimate high ground

Panel 5

Capt.

Coen Williams

U.S. Air Force

Capt. Coen Williams

Panel 5 SpeakerCapt. Williams is a Space Operations Officer with Mission Delta 9 (Orbital Warfare), where he has led teams within the 3rd Space Operations Squadron since 2023, including Mission Planning Cell Chief and Combat Detachment Commander for Low Earth Orbit and Tactically Responsive Space. He holds degrees from USAFA and Harvard Kennedy School.

Col. (Ret.)

Rob McGrath

U.S. Air Force

Col. (Ret.) Rob McGrath

Panel 5 SpeakerCol. (Ret.) McGrath is a space combat forces, cyberspace operations, and information warfare subject matter expert with The Aerospace Corporation; former Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Forces Space Command, USSPACECOM; and former Director of Strategy & Plans, Joint Task Force ARES, USCYBERCOM.

Ms.

Britany Washburn

Associate Director, Cross-Mission Effectiveness Department

Ms. Britany Washburn

Panel 5 SpeakerMs. Washburn serves as Associate Director of the Cross-Mission Effectiveness Department at The Aerospace Corporation, where she focuses on space domain awareness, risk assessment, mission assurance, and multi-domain modeling and simulation. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Utah State University.

The evolving strategy of nuclear weapons

Panel 6

Dr.

Brad Roberts

Director, Center for Global Security Research, LLNL

Dr. Brad Roberts

Panel 6 SpeakerDr. Roberts served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy from 2009 to 2013. While a visiting professor at Stanford University in 2014, he wrote the award-winning book, The Case for US Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century. He has a PhD from Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

Lt. Col.

Shane ‘Axl’ Praiswater

U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Shane 'Axl' Praiswater

Panel 6 SpeakerLt. Col. Praiswater is a command pilot with over 2,000 hours in the B-52H and T-38, including combat time in Operation Inherent Resolve. As B-21 Initial Cadre, he leads 6th-generation TTP development and force design, and holds a PhD from Pepperdine University and a graduate certificate from the Johns Hopkins Strategic Thinkers Program.

LCDR

John Fish

U.S. Navy

Panel 6 SpeakerLCDR Fish is a submarine ordnance officer with over two decades of experience in strategic nuclear deterrence, completing thirteen Strategic Deterrent Patrols across multiple SSBN platforms and supporting the UK nuclear deterrence mission under the Polaris Sales Agreement. He has served in program management, weapons, and executive officer roles across Strategic Weapons Facility-Pacific and PMO SSP Flight Systems.