I am a Professor of Practice with Arizona State University and Lecturer with University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra. I focus on post-graduate education in Irregular Warfare, Proxy Warfare, and Military Adaptation and Innovation topics, building upon my personal experience as a former Officer in the Australian Army. I’ve served in Afghanistan and Iraq and have been a non-resident fellow with the U.S. Joint Special Operations University and the Modern War Institute at West Point. My PhD addressed the Strategic Logic of Proxy Warfare. Where time permits, I have volunteered with the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI) for approximately 3 years.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra, 2024.
Master of Terrorism Studies, Charles Sturt University (CSU), 2022.
Master of Defence Studies, Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), 2010.
Certificate in Executive Management and Development, Australian Graduate School of Management, Sep 2018.
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) / Bachelor of Business (Management and Leadership), University of Southern Queensland, 2004.
Research Interests
I'm currently turning my PhD thesis into my first book, tentatively titled Riding Tigers: The Strategic Logic of Proxy Warfare. I have an enduring interest in the formation, evolution and counters to non-state armed groups (irregular warfare) and their impact upon policy-making.
Publications
‘Special Operations Developments in the Pacific: Back to the Future?’, Into the Void: Special Operations Beyond the Global War on Terror, Martijn Kitzen and James Kiras (eds.), Hurst, Jun 2024.
‘Strategic Planners’, The Long Road: The Long Road: Australia’s Train, Advise and Assist Missions, Tom Frame (ed.), UNSW Press, 2017.
