LtCol Chuck Anklam, USMC

LtCol Anklam is a Marine Corps infantry officer. He has served in numerous command and staff assignments, including four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He holds a MPA degree from Columbus State University, and a PhD from Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute, Department of Computer Information and Technology. Anklam is the recipient of five medals for combat valor, including two Bronze Stars, and has been awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Lt. Col. Pete Atkinson, US Army

Lt. Col. Atkinson is a career defense professional who has spent the last two decades advancing national security interests as an infantry, special forces, and space operations officer. His career highlights include six combat deployments, authoring two Secretary of Defense-level authorities, briefing the Uzbekistan Minister of Defense, and supporting the United States Space Command establishment. Pete earned his MA in global and international studies from the University of Kansas and a bachelor of arts in history, with a certificate in ethnic studies, from Florida Atlantic University.

Lt. Col. Mark Hamilton, USAF

Before coming to MIT, Lt. Col. Hamilton was Commander of the 20th Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. As commander, he organized, trained, and equipped 75 personnel and 12 CV-22B aircraft to support combatant commander requirements worldwide. He is a Command Pilot with more than 2,200 flight hours in various special operations aircraft. He has deployed in support of numerous operations during his career, including Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Lt. Cmdr. Gerry Mauer, USN

As a division officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mauer served on two guided missile destroyers homeported in Pearl Harbor. He completed both of his department head tours as the operations officer in Rota, Spain, onboard a guided missile destroyer, and at a destroyer squadron homebased in Singapore. Ashore, he served as the protocol officer to the chief of naval operations. Most recently, he was the lead undersea warfare instructor for future department heads at the Surface Warfare Schools Command in Newport, Rhode Island. Mauer earned his undergraduate degree in government and international politics from George Mason University, and his master’s degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Lt. Col. Christopher Thoendel

Thoendel has served in numerous staff and leadership positions, most recently supporting United States Space Command as the chief of joint integration. Prior to this role, he served as a senior military analyst at the Army’s Research and Analysis Center. Throughout his career, Chris has supported conventional and non-conventional operations from multiple locations around the world. He holds a bachelor of science in economics and math studies, and master of science degrees in industrial engineering, geographic information systems, and geology/geophysics.