Task Force 21

Mathew Costlow

Matthew Costlow is a Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy. His areas of expertise are in nuclear deterrence, missile defense policy, arms control, and Russian and Chinese nuclear doctrine. His work has been published by Comparative Strategy, Strategic Studies Quarterly, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He has also published numerous opinion pieces in the Institutes Information Series as well as the Wall Street Journal, War on the Rocks, Defense News, and Defense One.

Previously, Matt served as a Special Assistant in the office of Nuclear and Missile Defense policy, Department of Defense.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer

Senator Kevin Cramer was elected to the United States Senate on November 6, 2018 after serving three terms as North Dakota’s At-Large Member of the United States House of Representatives. He is the first Republican to hold this Senate seat in his lifetime. He serves on the Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Veterans Affairs, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Budget Committees.

Senator Cramer is the first ever North Dakotan to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Seapower. He is also on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities and the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

Lt. Gen. James Dawkins, Jr

Lt. Gen. James Dawkins, Jr. is Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He is responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for focus on Nuclear Deterrence Operations. He provides direction, guidance, integration and advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the U.S. Air Force and engages with joint and interagency partners for nuclear enterprise solutions.

Lt. Gen. Dawkins has held a variety of operational and staff assignments, including command of Eighth Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota; the 509th Operations Group at Whiteman AFB, Missouri; and the 338th Combat Training Squadron, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance training squadron at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. His staff assignments include positions at the Joint Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, the Department of Energy and the National Security Council. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, at the Pentagon.

Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr.

Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute. He has previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) Since 1996 he has covered scores of international arms exhibits and his articles have been published in the Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, Defense News, The Epoch Times and the The Washington Times. He has studied at Georgetown University and received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.

Patty-Jane Geller

Patty-Jane Geller, Heritage Foundation Patty-Jane Geller is a senior policy analyst for nuclear deterrence and missile defense in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense. Before joining Heritage in 2020, Patty-Jane worked at the Senate Armed Services Committee as a Staff Assistant for the Strategic Forces and Cybersecurity Subcommittees, where she worked to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Prior to working at SASC, she worked in the Office of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21).

Patty-Jane was a member of the Center for Budgetary and Strategic Assessments 2019 Congressional Defense Seminar and currently a member of the 2020-21 Marshall Fellows Program at the Heritage Foundation.

Dr. John R. Harvey

Dr. John R. Harvey is a physicist with over 40 years of experience working nuclear weapons and national security issues, first at LLNL, then at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Arms Control and in senior positions in the Departments of Defense (twice) and Energy. From 2009-2013, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs. In this role, he was Undersecretary Ash Carter’s “go to” person for the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, and for interactions with the NNSA on joint oversight of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Dr. Harvey provided oversight to DoD acquisition programs to sustain and modernize nuclear weapons delivery systems and systems for their command and control. He has written and spoken extensively on these issues. On retiring from government service in 2013, he consults with, among others, the Defense Science Board, Institute for Defense Analysis, Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Strategic Command’s Advisory Panel on Nuclear Command and Control and NNSA’s Defense Programs Advisory Committee.

U.S. Senator John Hoeven

Senator John Hoeven was sworn in as North Dakota’s 22nd U.S. Senator, following ten years of service as the state’s governor. He is a member of the Defenser Subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations which is tasked with writing the legislation that allocates federal funds to the numerous government agencies, departments, and organizations on an annual basis. He also serves on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; and Committee on Indian Affairs.

James Howe

James Howe is VP for Threats, Technology and Future Requirements at Vision Centric, Inc. and former Director of Threats, Technology and Future Requirements for Boeing Missile Defense and has 46 years' experience researching strategic and theater nuclear weapons and warfare, intercontinental conventional war, missile defense, hypersonic weapons and space warfare issues, with a focus on Russia and China. Mr. Howe has conducted studies for OSD/NA, DTRA, DIA/MSIC and USA/SMDC, and his research developed new business opportunities and has influenced US national security policy and strategy and national intelligence assessments.

Peter Huessy

Peter Huessy is Senior Defense Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Visiting Defense Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and President and CEO of Geo-Strategic Analysis. Mr. Huessy has taught nuclear deterrent and missile defense policy at the U.S. Naval Academy and for Global Strike Command, as part of his work on a wide range of national security and defense issues, including nuclear deterrence, missile defense, terrorism and counterterrorism, proliferation, energy and immigration. He created a Congressional Breakfast seminar series on nuclear deterrent and missile defense in 1983 and since then has hosted 1,500 of these seminars on key defense and national security issues including for the National Defense University Foundation for 22 years. He created the Triad Symposium series of conferences in 2011. And he appears regularly on the CBS "Eye on the World" radio show with John Batchelor and the Don Smith weekend broadcast discussing top national security issues.

Brigadier General Stacy Jo Huser

Brigadier General Stacy Jo Huser is the Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy, Washington, DC. She assists the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs to maintain the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

She has extensive experience in space and missile operations. General Huser has served as a space operations crew member, instructor and training manager as well as an ICBM combat crew commander, evaluator and chief of emergency war order plans. She also completed staff tours in the Secretary of the Air Force's Legislative Liaison Office and at United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). General Huser commanded the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base (AFB), Nebraska, the 91st Missile Operations Group Minot AFB, North Dakota, and the 90th Missile Wing at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming. Prior to her current assignment, General Huser served as Director, Commander’s Action Group, USSTRATCOM, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. As the Director, she led an elite group of specially selected Joint warfighters directly supporting the USSTRATCOM Commander’s vision and strategy.

Mark J. Jantzer

Mark J. Jantzer is a resident of Minot, North Dakota, and the long-time Chair of Task Force 21, Minot’s base retention and future military missions organization. As a Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Air Force Global Strike Command Civic Leader, Jantzer advises the commanders, and advocates and educates on issues affecting airmen. Appointed by the Governor to Task Force Military Issues North Dakota, Jantzer works to make North Dakota a desirable location for the military. Jantzer is a founding board member of the Strategic Deterrent Coalition, a nonprofit organizations that seeks to insure a robust strategic deterrent. Elected to the Minot City Council in 2008, Jantzer has served continuously in business for over 40 years in the Minot Area.

Amb. Robert Joseph

Amb. Robert Joseph is Senior Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy. Previously, Ambassador Joseph served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and as U.S. Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation. In this capacity, he was the principal State Department officer for non-and counterproliferation matters, arms control, arms transfers, regional security and defense relations, and security assistance.

Prior to his State Department positions, Dr. Joseph served in the National Security Council from 2001 through 2004 as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Proliferation Strategy, Counterproliferation and Homeland Defense. He was responsible, under the supervision of the National Security Advisor, for developing and coordinating U.S. policies and strategies for preventing, deterring, and defending against threats to the United States from weapons of mass destruction.

From 1994 through 2000, Dr. Joseph was Professor of National Security Studies and Director/Founder of the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at the National Defense University. Earlier, he was U.S. Commissioner to the Standing Consultative Commission and Ambassador to the U.S.-Russian Commission on Nuclear Testing, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy, and the Nuclear Policy/Planning Officer at U.S. Mission to NATO.

Lt Gen Frank Klotz (USAF, Ret)

Lt Gen Frank Klotz (USAF, Ret) is an adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation. From April 2014 to January 2018, he served as the Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. In this Senate-confirmed position, he was responsible for the U.S. Department of Energy’s wide-ranging scientific and technical activities to maintain an effective U.S. nuclear deterrent and to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. While on active duty, he served in several senior military posts, including as the first Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director of the Air Staff, and Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command. A distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he earned an M.Phil. in international relations and a D.Phil. in politics. He is also a graduate of the National War College.

Brekka Kramer

Brekka Kramer is the President | CEO of the Minot Area Chamber EDC and member of Task Force 21 (TF21). TF21 is an activity of the Minot Area Chamber EDC that educates the local community, ND officials, member of Congress, the public on national security issues, particularly ones that affect Minot Air Force Base, the U.S. Air Force and nuclear deterrence. Kramer serves on Governor Burgum’s Task Force for Military Issues in North Dakota executive committee and was appointed to the Air Force Global Strike Command Civic Leader group in 2015. Kramer has over twenty years of experience leading initiatives and moving public policy forward using vast networks of local, state, and national connections prior to joining the Minot Area Chamber EDC in May of this year.

U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn

Congressman Doug Lamborn was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006 to represent Colorado's Fifth District. Doug served for a decade on the Veterans Committee, and now as 4th ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, and ranking member of the Strategic Forces subcommittee, which oversees our nation's nuclear weapons, ballistic missile defense, national security space programs, and Department of Energy national security programs, ensuring that our nation is properly prepared for any missile or nuclear attacks.

The Honorable Ronald F. Lehman II

The Honorable Ronald F. Lehman II is the Counselor to the Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. For the State Department, Lehman Chairs the Governing Board of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC), an intergovernmental organization. For the Defense Department, Ron was one of the original members of the Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (TRAC) and was its Chair from 2014 though 2019 having previously served as Vice Chair.

Lehman was Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1989 to 1993, when START I, START II, the Chemical Weapons Convention, Conventional Forces in Europe. Open Skies, and other historic agreements where concluded. Previously, he served in the U.S. Department of Defense as Assistant Secretary for International Security Policy, in the State Department as Ambassador and U.S. Chief Negotiator on Strategic Offensive Arms (START I), and in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He has also served on the National Security Council staff as a Senior Director, in the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary, on the Senior Professional Staff of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and in Vietnam commissioned in the United States Army. For many years, he was the Director of the Center for Global Security Research at LLNL.

The Honorable Franklin C. Miller

The Honorable Franklin C. Miller is Principal, The Scowcroft Group. He is an internationally recognized expert on nonproliferation, defense, nuclear energy and policy issues, and export control. He served for thirty-one years in the U.S. government, including twenty-two years in the Department of Defense—serving under seven Secretaries in a series of progressively senior positions—and four years as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and as Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council staff.

Maj Gen John J. Nichols

Maj Gen John J. Nichols is the Director of Global Operations, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. As Director, he serves as the principal advisor to the USSTRATCOM Commander on nuclear operations and is responsible for the day-to-day readiness of U.S. nuclear command and control and strategic deterrent forces. He is also responsible for synchronizing component, joint and coalition operations and directing assigned forces to achieve USSTRATCOM and national objectives.

Maj Gen Nichols received his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1992. Following graduation, he served as an Intelligence Officer for seven years. Maj Gen Nichols then attended Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and served in multiple flying assignments in the B-1. Maj. Gen Nichols has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels to include the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi and the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Missouri.

Maj Gen Nichols is a command pilot with more than 2,500 flying hours.

Dr. Keith Payne

Dr. Keith Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy located in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Payne most recently served in the Department of Defense as a Senior Advisor to OSD and was awarded OSD’s Outstanding Achievement Award for his work on the 2018 NPR. Previously he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces Policy, for which he received the Distinguished Public Service Medal, Chairman of the Strategy and Policy Panel within the U.S. Strategic Command’s Senior Advisory Group, as a member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board, and as a Commissioner on the original Congressional Strategic Posture Commission (Perry-Schlesinger Commission). Dr. Payne has dealt extensively with nuclear policy issues as co-chairman of the Department of Defense’s Deterrence Concepts Advisory Group and as a leader of numerous noted studies of deterrence, missile defense, arms control, and proliferation. He also has served as a consultant to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and participated in the 1998 “Rumsfeld Study” of missile proliferation. Dr. Payne is a Professor Emeritus and has authored or co-authored more than 30 published books and over 250 professional articles.

Dr. Mark Schneider

Dr. Mark Schneider is a Senior Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy. He specializes in missile defense policy, nuclear weapons, deterrence, strategic forces, arms control, and arms control verification and compliance issues. Dr. Schneider served in a number of senior positions within the Office of Secretary of Defense for Policy including Principal Director for Forces Policy, Principal Director for Strategic Defense, Space and Verification Policy, Director for Strategic Arms Control Policy and Representative of the Secretary of Defense to the Nuclear Arms Control Implementation Commissions.

He also served in the senior Foreign Service as a Member of the State Department Policy Planning Staff, the Professional Staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Department of Energy, the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission. Dr. Schneider served as a member of the DoD Compliance Review Group. He chaired several working groups of the START and INF Treaty Implementation Commissions (JCIC and SVC) in Geneva, negotiating many implementation agreements with the successor states of the former Soviet Union. He most recently served as Acting Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Working Group on Missile Defense.

Henry Sokolski

Henry Sokolski is the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center and teaches graduate-level classes on nuclear policy at the University of Utah and the Institute of World Politics. He is also a Senior Fellow for Nuclear Security Studies at the University of California at San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy.

He has worked in the Pentagon as Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy, as a consultant to the National Intelligence Council, as a member of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Senior Advisory Group, and as a Senate military and legislative aide.

He has also served on two congressional commissions on the prevention of WMD proliferation and has authored and edited numerous volumes on strategic weapons proliferation issues, including Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future and Best of Intentions: America's Campaign against Strategic Weapons Proliferation.

Gregory J. Weaver

Gregory J. Weaver, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Deputy Director for Strategic Stability, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J-5), the Joint Staff. In this role, he is responsible for the formulation of Joint Staff positions and recommendations regarding strategic deterrence, space policy, cyberspace and information integration policy, nuclear policy, missile defense, as well as other international negotiations and agreements.

Prior to joining the Joint Staff, Mr. Weaver served as Principal Director for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OSD/Policy). In that role he was responsible for all policy matters involving U.S. nuclear and missile defense forces, strategy, plans, and requirements.

Before joining OSD/Policy, Mr. Weaver was the DD of Plans and Policy, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. He was the senior technical adviser for policy, strategy, and plans to the Director, Plans and Policy, and the Commander, USSTRATCOM.

Dr. Christopher Yeaw

Dr. Christopher Yeaw is Associate Executive Director for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Programs at the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska, U.S. Strategic Command’s University Affiliated Research Center.

Immediately prior to his appointment at NSRI, Dr. Yeaw was the National Nuclear Security Administration's Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Programs, having served as the Department of Energy's lead official in the development and rollout of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Formerly, he was the founder and director of the Center for Assurance, Deterrence, Escalation, and Nonproliferation Science & Education (CADENSE), a nuclear weapons think tank at the Louisiana Tech Research Institute.