Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) – The Hoover Institution is pleased to welcome its 2021–22 class of the Robert and Marion Oster National Security Affairs Fellowship (NSAF) Program.
These eight fellows, all distinguished high-ranking officers representing US military branches and the US Foreign Service, are taking a sabbatical from operational duties to spend their academic year at Hoover and pursue independent research.
The program offers these national security professionals a valuable opportunity to engage with Hoover’s fellowship and scholars across the Stanford campus, as well as audit classes, attend seminars, and participate in workshops, roundtables, and other events with policy experts and government officials. In addition, NSAFs can develop lasting professional networks and personal relationships with Silicon Valley industry leaders, former government officials on campus, and Hoover fellows.
These unique resources provide the officers with interdisciplinary perspectives about public policy in order to think strategically about America’s national security challenges.
In addition to their research, the NSAFs are also expected to provide mentorship to three or four of Stanford University’s top undergraduate students who are interested in international policy and security studies. For NSAFs, their mentorship offers a way to engage in life at Stanford University. For students, it’s the chance of a lifetime to receive leadership training from officers at the top of their field. Students also have the opportunity to collaborate with NSAFs on designing a 10-week lecture series and organizing an “alternative spring break” to military bases and political offices in Washington, DC, in order to achieve a better understanding of civil-military relations.
The National Security Affairs Fellows Program, directed by Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow Amy Zegart, began in 1969 and has more than 197 distinguished alumni, including H. R. McMaster (US Army, Ret.), Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow and the former White House national security advisor; John Abizaid (US Army, Ret.) former CENTCOM commander and US ambassador to Saudi Arabia; John Negroponte, former US ambassador to the United Nations and former director of national intelligence; and former US representative Chris Gibson.
The 2021–22 class features eight distinguished officers representing four US uniformed service branches and the US Foreign Service:
Katherine M. R. Beamer (US State Department): Katherine Beamer is a member of the Senior Foreign Service. She has served as the human rights officer at the US embassy in Guatemala; political officer in Poland and Slovakia; deputy counselor of the political, economic, and commercial section at the US embassy in Bolivia; and political and economic counselor at the US embassy in the Dominican Republic. She also served two tours in Washington, DC, assigned to the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the offices of Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs on Paraguay and Uruguay, and in Caribbean Affairs on Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean
Lt. Col. Jennifer Ann Branigan Carns (US Air Force): Lt. Col. Jennifer Carns is a cyberspace officer with a focus on expeditionary communications, having served in United States European Command, Air Forces Central Command, and the Air Staff. She commanded an engineering installation squadron, a communications squadron, and a postal detachment. Carns deployed to Southwest Asia four times in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, she served as the executive assistant to the chief of staff of the Air Force.
Col. Drew Conover (US Army): Col. Drew Conover was commissioned as an infantry officer in 2001 and served in assignments throughout the continental United States and Germany, where he deployed multiple times to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Conover commanded the First Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment in the First Infantry Division, from 2018 to 2020 in Eastern Europe. Prior to his fellowship at Hoover, Conover served as the operations officer for the Fourth Infantry Division and Fort Carson.
Lt. Col. Michael E. Feuquay (US Marine Corps): Lt. Col. Michael E. Feuquay served in a variety of command and support roles throughout his 19-year career as a financial management officer. He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as the First Marine Division comptroller. He has served as company commander with First Recruit Training Battalion at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, and as deputy comptroller with the Third Marine Division. During his tour with the Third Marine Division, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the officer in charge of the Afghan reintegration program. In addition, Feuquay has served as head of the Ground Financial Management Branch with Marine Forces Command, comptroller of Second Marine Logistics Group, and commander of the Marine Corps’ Financial Management School.
Capt. Lushan Hannah (US Coast Guard): Capt. Lushan Hannah’s Coast Guard career includes operational experience in Southern California, New Orleans, and throughout the Pacific Rim. Throughout his career, Hannah has built partnerships with public- and private-sector teams to bolster maritime security, clean up pollution, conduct search and rescue, and respond to natural disasters. Most recently, he was the commanding officer of the Pacific Strike Team, responsible for mitigating hazardous material incidents for the Western United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories.
Lt. Cdr. Brian Harrington (US Navy): Lt. Cdr. Brian Harrington is a surface warfare officer with tours on board guided missile destroyers and an expeditionary riverine squadron. He has served as a combat systems officer, weapons officer, boarding and force protections officer, and rescue swimmer for afloat operations in US Pacific Command, US Central Command, US European Command, the Horn of Africa, and expeditionary operations in Southeast Iraq. Most recently, Harrington served as the operations and plans officer at Task Force Six Four, the Sixth Fleet’s integrated air and missile defense cell in Naples, Italy.
Lt. Col. Oliver Lause (US Air Force): Lt. Col. Oliver Lause is an Air Force fighter pilot and former F-16 squadron commander with operational flying tours and staff assignments in the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the United States. He has flown combat missions in Afghanistan and alert missions for homeland defense, and was an instructor at the Air Force Weapons School. Most recently, Lause was the executive assistant to the supreme allied commander Europe and commander, United States European Command.
Lt. Col. Keith B. Miller (US Army): Lt. Col. Keith Miller was commissioned as an armor officer in 2001. He served as a cavalry troop executive officer during the invasion of Iraq and later as a reconnaissance commander during the surge. Following these deployments, he transitioned to strategic intelligence, advising senior Department of Defense decision makers on strategic indications and warnings, threat analysis, and intelligence activities focusing on intentions, geography, and military capabilities of foreign nations. He has also served in multiple staff and leadership positions at several global combatant commands, most notably US Special Operations, US European Command, and US Southern Command. Miller has extensive experience in unconventional warfare operations, transnational criminal organizations, and travel throughout Europe, Turkey, and the post-Soviet states.
For more information on the National Security Affairs Fellowship, contact Taylor McLamb at twj@stanford.edu, (650) 723-1395.
