CNA's Military Advisory Board Members

The CNA Military Advisory Board (MAB) is an elite group of retired three- and four-star flag and general officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that studies pressing issues of the day to assess their impact on America’s national security.


General Ronald E. Keys, USAF (Ret.), Chairman, CNA's Military Advisory Board
Former Commander, Air Combat Command

General Ron Keys retired from the Air Force in November 2007 after a career of over forty years. His last assignment was as Commander, Air Combat Command, the Air Force’s largest major command, consisting of more than 1,200 aircraft, 27 wings, 17 bases, and 200 operating locations worldwide with 105,000 personnel. General Keys holds a Bachelor of Science from Kansas State University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University. General Keys is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in fighter aircraft, including more than 300 hours of combat time.

No stranger to energy challenges, General Keys first faced them operationally as a young Air Force Captain, piloting F-4s during the fuel embargo of the 1970s. Later, as director of Operations for European Command (EUCOM), fuel and logistic supply provisioning were critical decisions during humanitarian, rescue, and combat operations across EUCOM’s area of responsibility including the Balkans and deep into Africa. As Commander of Allied Air Forces Southern Europe and Commander of the U.S. 16th Air Force, similar hard choices had to be made in supporting OPERATION NORTHERN WATCH in Iraq as well as for combat air patrols and resupply in the Balkans. Later, as the director of all Air Force Air, Space, and Cyber mission areas as well as operational requirements in the early 2000s, he saw the impact of energy choices on budget planning and execution as well as in training and supporting operational plans in Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, at Air Combat Command, he faced the challenge of organizing, training, and equipping forces at home and deployed to balance mission effectiveness with crucial energy efficiency. Continuing after retirement, he has advised the U.S. He is a member of The Center for Climate and Security's Climate and Security Working Group focused on developing policy options and encouraging dialogue and education on the issues. As a member of CNA's Military Advisory Board on DOD Energy Security and Climate Change projects, he is intimately familiar with the relationship of energy, military, economic, and national security.

General Keys owns RK Solution Enterprises, an independent consultancy. In addition to his energy portfolio, he is a senior advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center, and a member of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Board of Trustees. Back to top


Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.), Vice Chairman, CNA's Military Advisory Board
Former Inspector General of the Department of the Navy

Vice Admiral Lee Gunn served for 35 years in the U.S. Navy. His last active duty assignment was Inspector General of the Department of the Navy where he was responsible for the Department’s overall inspection program and its assessments of readiness, training, and quality of service. Serving in the Surface Navy in a variety of theaters, Gunn rose through the cruiser/destroyer force to command the Frigate USS Barbey, then commanded the Navy’s anti-submarine warfare tactical and technical evaluation Destroyer squadron, DESRON 31. He later commanded Amphibious Group Three. As Commander of PHIBGRU THREE, he served as the Combined Naval Forces Commander and Deputy Task Force Commander of Combined Task Force United Shield, which conducted the withdrawal of U.N. peacekeeping forces from Somalia.

Gunn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Experimental and Physiological Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Science in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Back to top


Brigadier General Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., USA (Ret.), Vice Chairman, CNA's Military Advisory Board
Former Dean at the United States Military Academy, West Point; Dean at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University

Brigadier General Gerry Galloway served for 38 years as a combat engineer, civil engineer, and a military educator in various command and staff assignments in Germany, Southeast Asia, and the United States before retiring in 1995. He is currently a Glenn L. Martin Institute professor of Engineering and an affiliate professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland where his research focuses on disaster risk management and the impacts of climate change in the U.S. and internationally. He commanded the Corps of Engineers Vicksburg Engineer District and  was a Presidential appointee to the Mississippi River Commission from 1988 to 1995. From 1994 to 1995, he was assigned to the White House to lead a committee in assessing the causes of the 1993 Mississippi River Flood. In 2006 he chaired an Interagency National Levee Policy Review Team. Since 2010 he has served on the Governor of Louisiana’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection and Restoration.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds Master’s degrees from Princeton University, Pennsylvania State University, and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, has served on thirteen committees of the National Research Council, is chairing two studies of future Army Logistics, and is a member of the National Academies Roundtable on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events. Back to top


Cheryl Rosenblum, Executive Director, CNA's Military Advisory Board

Cheryl Rosenblum is the director of Strategic Development for CNA and executive director of CNA's Military Advisory Board. Rosenblum is responsible for developing partnerships with the intelligence community, foundations, and federal agencies for CNA. Before moving into business development, Rosenblum spent two decades providing economic and policy-level research to federal, state, and local governments, electric utilities, and universities. She served as CNA’s deputy director for Energy Research, where she built a robust environmental security product area while directing research initiatives focused on energy security, climate change adaptation, and energy dependence. Rosenblum supported the development of the energy and climate sections of the Quadrennial Defense Review, directed projects on climate change and federal adaptation policy, and developed the Department of Navy’s framework for an energy strategy. Rosenblum also continues to serve as a senior fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment.

Rosenblum’s public sector research experience has centered on the relationship of the public and private sector in the provision of services, public-private competition, alternative government structures, and performance measurement, as well as in structuring public organizations to create competitive markets for services. Before joining CNA, Rosenblum held positions at: LMI, working on infrastructure and alternative fuels analyses; David M Griffith and Associates, as a transportation consultant; and at Campaign for Oxford, supporting their development staff. While in graduate school, Rosenblum ran analyses for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service on the economic cost of oil spills from platforms and pipelines. Back to top


Admiral Frank “Skip” Bowman, USN (Ret.)
Former Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; Former Deputy Administrator-Naval Reactors, National Nuclear Security Administration

For over eight years, Admiral Skip Bowman was director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, Naval Sea Systems Command and concurrently deputy administrator for Naval Reactors in the Naval Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy; additionally as a flag officer, Admiral Bowman served as Chief of Naval Personnel and as director for Political-Military Affairs and deputy director for Operations on the Joint Staff.

He was commissioned following graduation in 1966 from Duke University. In 1973, he completed a dual master’s program in nuclear engineering and naval architecture/marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was elected to the Society of Sigma Xi. Admiral Bowman has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Duke University. Admiral Bowman was President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) from 2005 through 2008. NEI is the policy organization for the commercial nuclear power industry. In 2006, Admiral Bowman was named an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. Admiral Bowman currently serves on the boards of directors of BP, plc, and Morgan Stanley Mutual Funds. Back to top


General James T. Conway, USMC (Ret.)
Former 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps

As Commandant, General Conway served as the senior uniformed Marine responsible for the organization, training, and equipping of over 250,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel serving in the United States and overseas. He managed an annual budget on the order of $40 Billion. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for four years, he was a military advisor to the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the President. Previous high level assignments included president of the Marine Corps University, command of a (20,000 Marine) Division, and commander of 90,000 U.S. and British forces during the invasion of Iraq. Prior to becoming the Commandant, he served as the J-3 Joint Staff, or senior operations officer in the U.S. military, where he oversaw the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He attended Southeast Missouri University, the Seminar XXI M.I.T. Fellowship Program, and the JFK School of Government, Harvard University, Seminar of International Relations. Back to top


Lieutenant General Ken Eickmann, USAF (Ret.)
Former Commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB

From 1996-1998, General Eickmann served as the Commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, where he led the nation's largest center of excellence for research, development, and acquisition of aircraft, aeronautical equipment, and munitions. General Eickmann was the Commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and Installation Commander of Tinker Air Force Base from 1994-1996; Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Chief of Staff for Air Force Materiel Command from 1992-1994; and DCS Logistics, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces from 1990-1992. The general served six years on the Air Force Science and Technology Board and has chaired numerous energy related studies for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council. He is a recognized expert in energy, logistics, and propulsion technology and has published several papers in technical journals in the U.S. and overseas.

Ken Eickmann is currently the deputy director of the Center for Energy Security at the University of Texas in Austin. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin, a Master's degree in Systems Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and is a graduate of the University of the Michigan School of Business and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Back to top


Lieutenant General Lawrence P. Farrell, Jr., USAF (Ret.)
Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force

In 1998, General Farrell served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He was responsible for planning, programming, and manpower activities within the corporate Air Force and for integrating the Air Force's future plans and requirements to support national security objectives and military strategy. Previous positions include Vice Commander, Air Force Materiel Command and deputy director, Defense Logistics Agency. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe. A command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, he flew 196 missions in Southeast Asia and commanded the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing, Torrejon Air Base, Spain.

General Farrell is a graduate of the Air Force Academy with a B.S. in Engineering and an M.B.A. from Auburn University. Other education includes the National War College and the Harvard Program for Executives in National Security. Back to top


General Donald J. Hoffman USAF (Ret.)
Former Commander, Air Force Materiel Command 

General Hoffman retired in June 2012 after managing an 80,000 workforce with a $60B budget to develop, acquire, test, and sustain Air Force Weapon Systems. He also served as the Military Deputy for Air Force Acquisition in the Pentagon and the Director of Requirements at Air Combat Command. He is a pilot with over 3,800 hours in fighter, trainer, and transport aircraft and has served in numerous operational commands.

A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, General Hoffman has a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and has attended the National War College and the National Security Management Course at Syracuse University. Back to top


General Paul Kern, USA (Ret.)
Former Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command

General Kern was Commanding General, Army Materiel Command from 2001-2004, and senior advisor for Army Research, Development, and Acquisition from 1997-2001. He was commissioned as an Armor Lieutenant following graduation from West Point in 1967 and served three combat tours – two in Vietnam as a platoon leader and troop commander and the third in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. In the 1990s, Kern served as senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense William Perry. In June 2004, at the request of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Kern led the military's internal investigation into the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. 

He holds Master’s degrees in both Civil and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and he was a senior security fellow at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University. Back to top


Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, British Royal Navy (Ret.)
Former U.K. Foreign Secretary's Special Representative for Climate Change
Former Commandant, U.K. Joint Services Command and Staff College

Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti retired from the Royal Navy in December 2012 after 36 years of service. His last active duty appointment was as the U.K. Government Climate and Energy Security Envoy, where he engaged with policy makers around the world to address the security implications, national and global, of a changing climate. Prior to that his flag posts included Commandant of the U.K. Joint Services Command and Staff College, where he was responsible for the military post graduate education of students from 60 nations, and Commander of U.K. Maritime Forces (deployable fleet commander). A Surface Warfare officer, his ship commands ranged in size from the patrol boat HMS CYGNET to the aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE.

In 2013 he served as the U.K. Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change, charged with working to help set the political conditions for a global agreement on climate change

A graduate of Britannia Royal Naval College, he has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia and is an honorary professor at University College London, where he is director of Strategy for the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy. Back to top


Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, USN (Ret.)
Former President of National Defense University
Former Deputy Commander, U.S. Transportation Command

Ann Rondeau served in the United States Navy, attaining the rank of Vice Admiral. Her last active duty assignment was President, National Defense University (NDU). Rondeau served in leadership, staff, and command assignments in myriad mission areas: fleet operations (anti-submarine warfare, air operations, operational intelligence, maritime transportation, and sealift), strategy and policy, policy planning, strategic logistics, operations analysis, training and education, workforce development, business enterprise, and installations management. She is currently an independent consultant with IBM’s leading edge cognitive computing project, The Watson Group.

She has been active with the National Defense Transportation Association. She serves as Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, American Public University System, a subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc.

She has served on succession, governing, and compensation committees in her Boards service including: Board of Directors of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and as co-Chair of CHEA’s Commission on Quality Assurance and Alternative Higher Education. She is also a Trustee with the German Marshall Fund; a partner with the Houston-based Allen Austin Global Executive Leadership Firm; a member of the Atlantic Council; and an advisor for The Canadian Defense College Foundation

Rondeau holds a Bachelor's Degree in History and Social Science from Eisenhower College, a Master's Degree in Comparative Government from Georgetown University, and a Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University and has attended several senior executive training and education courses. Back to top


Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder, USMC (Ret.)
Former Commanding General, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific

LtGen Stalder was the senior Marine Corps Military Representative to the U.S. Pacific Command for operations in the Pacific, including Japan, China, North and South Korea, Guam, and Okinawa. The largest field command in the Marine Corps, it encompassed the operational forces of I and III Marine Expeditionary Forces. He directed and supervised Marine Corps Bases in Japan, Okinawa, Korea, and the western United States, with 90,000 people, 500 aircraft, and 17 bases and stations. Previous high-level assignments include command of II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Training and Education Command, 3D Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade. LtGen Stalder is a senior fellow at CNA.

He holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Back to top


Rear Admiral David W. Titley, USN (Ret.)
Former Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy

Rear Admiral David Titley retired from the Navy in 2012. Dr. Titley is now a senior scientist in the Department of Meteorology at Penn State. He is also the founding director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk. Dr. Titley served as a naval officer for thirty-two years, rising to the rank of rear admiral. His career included duties as oceanographer and navigator of the navy. In 2009 he initiated and led the U.S. Navy Task Force on Climate Change. Titley holds a Bachelor of Science in meteorology from Penn State. From the Naval Postgraduate School, he earned an M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and a Ph.D. in Meteorology. He was elected a fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2009. Back to top


General Charles F. “Chuck” Wald, USAF (Ret.)
Former Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)

General Wald retired from the U.S. Air Force as a four star general after serving over 35 years in the U.S. military. In his last position, he served as deputy commander of U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) from 2002 until his retirement from the U.S. Air Force in July 2006. In that role he was responsible for U.S. forces operating across 91 countries in Europe, Africa, Russia, parts of Asia, the Middle East, and most of the Atlantic Ocean. During his command, he developed the European Command Strategic Plan that included energy assurance and sustainment for the EUCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR).

General Wald commanded the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, where on August 30, 1995, he led one of the wing’s initial strike packages against the ammunition depot at Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina. From 1999 – 2001, he commanded the 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. In September 2001, as the Supporting Commander, General Wald led the development of the coalition air campaign in Operation Enduring Freedom including the idea of embedding tactical air control parties in ground special operations forces leading to the extraction of Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

General Wald is a command pilot with more than 3,600 flying hours, including more than 430 combat hours over Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, and Bosnia. The general earned his commission through the Air Force ROTC program in 1971. He earned his Master’s degree in International Relations from Troy University and received a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law from North Dakota State University. He currently serves as vice chairman, Federal Practice Advisory Partner of Deloitte. Back to top


Lieutenant General Richard C. Zilmer, USMC (Ret.)
Former Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps; Former Commanding General of Multi-National Force, Al Anbar, Iraq

Lieutenant General Richard Zilmer retired from active duty in January of 2011 following over 36 years of commissioned service. During his military career, Zilmer served in a variety of operational and staff assignments throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. His operational commands consisted of Commanding Officer First Battalion, First Marines, Commanding Officer 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Commanding General Multinational Forces-West (Anbar Province, Iraq), and Commanding General III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. Zilmer served combat tours during Lebanon Peacekeeping Operations, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Zilmer’s staff assignments included multiple Washington, DC tours at Headquarters Marine Corps, Deputy J-3 for Operations at the United States European Command. His final assignment was Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps.

Lieutenant General Zilmer graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education from Kutztown University in 1974. He holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the College of Naval Warfare.  
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