LtCol Cavan is the Deputy Director and Dean of Students for the School of Advanced Warfighting.
He was commissioned via the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps in 2001 from The George Washington University where he earned a BA in International Affairs and an MA in National Security Policy Studies.
LtCol Cavan is an infantry officer who has served operationally as a rifle platoon commander, anti-armor platoon commander, company executive officer, and company commander with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines; as police mentoring team leader, company commander, and battalion operations officer with 1st Battalion, 3d Marines; as the II Marine Expeditionary Force deputy future operations officer, and as the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit operations officer. He has deployed as part of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ALLIES REFUGE.
LtCol Cavan has also served as an infantry operational test project officer with the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA), as the Exercise Design Branch Head at the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Staff Training Program (MSTP), and as the Amphibious Warfare Integration Requirements Officer in the Expeditionary Warfare Division on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N95).
LtCol Cavan is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Warfighting. He holds master’s degrees in Systems Analysis, Military Studies, and Operational Studies