Director of Middle East Studies: Dr. Amin Tarzi
Dr. Tarzi’s areas of interest include the Middle East and South/Central Asia—including the impact of regional policies in these regions on U.S. national security and interests, history and historical narratives, state-building and borderization, and counter- and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. He earned his Ph.D. and MA degrees from the Department of Middle East Studies at New York University, and earned his BA in philosophy and political science from Queens College in New York City.
Research Assistant Professor at Middle East Studies: Dr. Christopher Anzalone
Dr. Anzalone studied at George Mason University completing a B.A. double major in History and Religious Studies. He did graduate work at Indiana University, Bloomington, completing an M.A. in Near Eastern studies, and earned his doctorate through McGill University in Islamic Studies with a primary geographical focus on the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa (particularly East Africa), and additional research on South Asia. His main research focuses broadly on contemporary Islam and Muslim societies with a particular interest on Islamic political thought and different Muslim social and political movements. Dr. Anzalone has special interest in radical and militant Islamist movements and organizations, both Sunni and Shi'ite, and issues of sectarianism in Islam.
Director of Wargaming, Mr. Tim Barrick
Tim Barrick served in the Marine Corps for 29 years, retiring as a Colonel in Spring 2021. He served in a wide range of billets including command of 1st Tank Battalion and the Marine Corps Tactics & Operations Group. He also served in key planning positions on the staffs of Marine Forces Japan, Marine Forces Europe & Africa, and deployed on three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as a brigade advisor team lead working with Afghan security forces in 2011-12. In his last tour on active duty, he was the Wargaming Director for the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, focused on analyzing future warfighting and the Marine Corps’ force design. He is also the lead designer for the Operational Wargame System and its Assassin’s Mace and Zapad game modules which examine great power conflict at the tactical and operational levels of war. He is also a leading innovator for commercial wargaming tools in professional military education. He is a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps War College and the Naval War College, and an honor graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School. He also served as the Director of Leaders & Ethics at the Marine Corps War College. In addition to his masters degrees from these PME schools, he also earned a master’s degree in Military Studies in Land Warfare from American Military University and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a degree in Political Science.
Operations Officer, Major Nate "Kiwi" Jaenichen
Maj Jaenichen came to the Krulak Center from the MAGTF Staff Training Program, where he was the Aviation and Wargaming SME. He started his career as a CH-46E pilot stationed in Okinawa with HMM-265 doing multiple 31st MEU deployments and graduated from the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. He then transitioned to the UH-1Y and served with HMLA-469, HMLA-169 (where he deployed with VMM-161(REIN) on the 15th MEU), and was a part of the reestablishment of HMLA-775. Within the squadron, Maj Jaenichen shared his time between Operations and Maintenance. Prior to MSTP he was a student at the Army’s Command and General Staff College. He has a BS in History from the Naval Academy and a MS in Data Analytics from the University of Maryland. He enjoys gaming of all types (especially board games), hockey, Formula 1, recently started woodworking, and is a Docent at the Marine Corps Museum. Maj Jaenichen is married and they have a high school sophomore.
Director of the Center for Regional & Security Studies, Major John S. Behrmann
Maj John Behrmann is a native of Florida. In 2009, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in English and commissioned into the Marine Corps. Maj Behrmann has served as various echelons in the Corps including 1st Intelligence Battalion as All-Source Fusion Platoon Commander, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing as G-2 Operations and Air Combat Intelligence Officer, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, and Marine Aircraft Group 31 as the S-2 Officer in Charge. Maj Behrmann has completed multiple overseas deployments and has served as a company-level advisor for the Afghan Border Police and as a liaison officer to Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA). In 2021, he graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Arts in Regional Security Studies and earned the additional qualification of Regional Affairs Officer (RAO) for Southeast Asia. In his spare time, Maj Behrmann enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time in the great outdoors.
China SME, Mr. Dan Rice
Daniel is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. He is also the Chief Operation Officer of the opensource geopolitical intelligence company Foreign Brief. Daniel is a graduate of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and spent several years working and studying in China. He has spoken about China at various US military and international news organizations and is a regular guest on the Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Advantage podcast. He is a fluent Mandarin speaker and speaks Spanish and Arabic. Daniel has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the George Washington University, a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from the Hopkins Nanjing Center, and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He has maintained HSK VI proficiency in Mandarin Chinese, was a bronze medalist in the 2013 Jiangsu Chinese Speech competition for the Greater DC area, and was a 2020 Presidential Management Fellowship Finalist.
WPS SME, Dr. Kelly Spring
Kelly brings a wealth of experience to the position. She has over twenty years of expertise in designing curriculum and teaching in higher education. Kelly has held lecturing positions in the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. In these locations, she has taught a wide range of subjects, including English as a second language, history, food studies, academic writing, and gender studies. Her research utilizes food as a lens to examine the interconnectivity of gender roles and international conflict in historical contexts. Her current research project, “SPAM: A Global History”, traces the complex and long lasting impact of war on international food ways.
DEI SME, Mr. Herrick Ross
Mr. Ross is a retired Marine and a graduate of Liberty University with a Masters in Business Administration, Herrick brings with him experiences in changing long-held organizational paradigms within a myriad of companies looking to be more inclusive. His background working for corporate America, shaping the culture and unique needs for inclusion and access of marginalized ethnic, religious and sexual identities, persons with disabilities and those who hold multiple intersecting identities, lends itself well to the work of the Krulak Center re-imagining the future force. The emerging concepts of how societal changes with regards to inclusion can be best adapted for the Marine Corps culture and warfighting success begins with recognition, representation, and education. Herrick weaves together intellectual and emotional research and storytelling to help an increasingly divided world question old assumptions while embracing new ideas and perspectives.
Energy SME, Mr. Joseph "Buzz" Easterling
Russia SME, Mr. Alex Kostin
Digital Wargaming SME, Mr. Joel Corrente
Digital Wargaming SME, Mr. Kevin Williamson