Brigadier General Jasper Jeffers III is currently serving as the Deputy Director for
Special Operations and Counterterrorism on the Joint Staff. He received his commission
in 1996 through the ROTC program at Virginia Tech. He has served in a variety of
Infantry and Special Operations units throughout his career, commanding at every level
from Company to Brigade, including multiple tours as a Joint Task Force Commander.
He was later the Deputy Commanding General of the 3 rd Infantry Division. BG Jeffers
has significant joint and inter-agency operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan,
throughout the Middle East, and in North and West Africa. BG Jeffers earned a M.A. in
Security Management from Webster University and was a Counterterrorism and Public
Policy Fellow at Duke University.
Catherine V. Herridge is an Emmy Award‐winning veteran investigative correspondent who covers national security and intelligence.
A stronger defender of the First Amendment, Herridge was recently held in civil contempt by a Federal Judge for refusing to disclose confidential sources. The case which is generating national and international headlines is now before the Federal Appeals Court in Washington DC.
As a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News from 2019-2024, Herridge’s reporting was a catalyst for legislative change affecting more than a million American veterans and civilians. The Investigative Unit’s Emmy‐nominated series “Decades of Exposure” is credited by activists and lawmakers with the passing of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act in August 2022. Part of the burn pit legislation known as the PACT ACT, the law is considered one of the largest expansions of VA healthcare and benefits for American veterans.
In 2021, Herridge and the CBS News Investigative Unit won the Society of Environmental Journalists top prize, the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting, for a year-long probe that exposed serious health hazards at the K-2 military base in Uzbekistan that supported Special Operations missions into Afghanistan after 9/11. In response to Herridge’s reporting, an Executive Order recognized K2 veterans and mandated a comprehensive Defense Department study on the health consequences.
Herridge’s recent reporting on retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers in the elite Green Berets, kept his story in front of government decision makers and helped right a 58 year old wrong. In March 2023, the Vietnam hero was awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House for his heroism at the 1965 Battle of Bong Son after his nomination paperwork was lost twice at the height of the civil rights movement.
Herridge has conducted newsmaker interviews including the lead IRS case agent in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, former President Donald Trump, former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, as well as former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Herridge has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Israel, Northern Ireland, Russia and the former Yugoslavia. Prior to joining CBS News, Herridge was the chief intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC), and a TV and radio correspondent for ABC News in London. In 2019, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society awarded Herridge with its annual Tex McCrary Award for excellence in journalism.
She is a graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia School of Journalism where she founded a national security reporting scholarship. Herridge comes from a military family and lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, a West Point graduate, and their two boys.
Joey Gagnard is an Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Military Intelligence Officer who has served in a variety of special operations, joint and inter-agency assignments across more than more than 15 countries over his 28-year career. Mr. Gagnard has conducted multiple combat operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan as well as operational deployments across Eastern Europe and Africa. He has served as an instructor at both the Military Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and as an Observer/Controller at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. He has completed many of the most demanding military and inter-agency courses and has a master's degree in Global Affairs from the Jackson School at Yale.
Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. is a Senior Kissinger Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, Senior Advisor for EEC Solutions, Orbis Operations and Dataminr. He formerly served as a Strategic Advisor at Special Operations Command, a personal business consultant and an international affairs lecturer. He is an Export-Import Africa Advisory Board Member. Over his 34-year Foreign Service career, he represented the United States abroad as Ambassador three times and served in senior positions at the State Department and the White House. He retired in March 2018 with the rank of Career Minister.
He served as ambassador to Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Ambassador Thomas also served as the State Department’s Executive Secretary and Special Assistant to Secretary Rice, Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, Director for South Asia at the National Security Council and Director of the Operations Center.
Ambassador Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, Bengali and conversational Tagalog. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and holds a master’s from Columbia University. Ambassador Thomas holds Honorary Doctorates from the College of the Holy Cross, Loyola University of Maryland and Angeles University Foundation of the Philippines and was the Commencement Speaker at these institutions.
He is a member of the College of the Holy Cross, The Asia Foundation, Stimson Center, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, American Red Cross of Central Florida and Care for the Homeless Board of Trustees and Chairperson of the Winter4Kids Board of Trustees. He is a Fellow of Yale University’s Berkeley College. Ambassador Thomas is the recipient of the Director General's Cup, The Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award, the State Department’s Highest Honor; the Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award for Mentoring; the Senior Foreign Service Presidential Award and several Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor Awards; the Order of Sikatuna of the Philippines for Exceptional Service and the In Hoc Signo Vinces Award from the College of the Holy Cross. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.
He is married to Mithi Aquino-Thomas and has three adult children. They reside in Brandon, Florida. He is a former Northern Virginia Swimming Official, a fervent fan of New York sports teams, enjoys snorkeling, golf and connecting with social media friends in the global community.
Joey Gagnard is an Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Military Intelligence Officer who has served in a variety of special operations, joint and inter-agency assignments across more than more than 15 countries over his 28-year career. Mr. Gagnard has conducted multiple combat operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan as well as operational deployments across Eastern Europe and Africa. He has served as an instructor at both the Military Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and as an Observer/Controller at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. He has completed many of the most demanding military and inter-agency courses and has a master's degree in Global Affairs from the Jackson School at Yale.
JAMES HATCH'S STORY IS ONE OF UNWAVERING DEDICATION, PROFOUND SACRIFICE, AND AN INSPIRING JOURNEY OF PERSONAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH. SERVING OVER 25 YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY, WITH 22 OF THOSE YEARS SPENT IN THE ELITE SEAL TEAMS, JAMES'S MILITARY CAREER EPITOMIZED BRAVERY AND EXCELLENCE.
IN 2009, HIS SERVICE TOOK A DRAMATIC TURN WHEN HE WAS CRITICALLY WOUNDED. MARKING THE END OF HIS ACTIVE MILITARY CAREER. HOWEVER, THIS SETBACK OPENED A NEW CHAPTER IN HIS LIFE. CHANNELING HIS EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS, JAMES CO- AUTHORED "TOUCHING THE DRAGON," A POIGNANT MEMOIR THAT CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF HIS TIME IN THE SERVICE. THIS WORK NOT ONLY SHOWCASES HIS JOURNEY BUT ALSO OFFERS A RAW AND HONEST PERSPECTIVE ON THE LIFE OF A CLOSE IN COMBATANT.
IN A REMARKABLE SHIFT OF GEARS, JAMES WAS ADMITTED TO YALE COLLEGE IN 2019. EMBRACING THIS OPPORTUNITY, HE HAS THRIVED ACADEMICALLY AND IS SET TO GRADUATE IN THE SPRING OF 2024. HIS TIME AT YALE HAS BEEN A TESTAMENT TO HIS ADAPTABILITY AND COMMITMENT TO CONTINUAL GROWTH.
BEYOND ACADEMIA, JAMES IS A SOUGHT-AFTER SPEAKER, ENGAGING AUDIENCES INTERNATIONALLY ON TOPICS SUCH AS TEAMWORK, C O P I N G WITH TRAUMA, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS CULTURAL DIVIDES. HIS EFFORTS EXTEND BEYOND THE PODIUM, AS HE ACTIVELY WORKS TOWARDS FOSTERING UNDERSTANDING AND UNITY AMONG DIVERSE GROUPS. JAMES HATCH'S JOURNEY IS NOT JUST A NARRATIVE OF MILITARY VALOR BUT ALSO A STORY OF HUMAN RESILIENCE AND THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF PERSONAL 太 DEVELOPMENT. AS HE LOOKS TO THE FUTURE. HIS GOALS ARE CLEAR: TO CONTINUE MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALING AND UNIFICATION OF OUR NATION.
A senior executive and national security expert with over 35 years of experience in the Department of Defense (DoD), Rear Admiral Patrick Piercey has served in senior leadership roles in both joint military and naval policy, planning, strategy, operations, and force generation and readiness.
He has served in positions in the Pentagon and around the world primarily focused on the Indo-Pacific and Europe including recent assignments as chief of staff for U.S. European Command and as director of operations for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command which covers U.S. military operations throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
He has held command four times, and has extensive strategic, operational and planning experience. He has played a critical role in shaping and implementing DOD strategy in Europe and Asia, while also responding to crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, North Korean provocations, and China’s illegal construction in the South China Sea.
He has a proven track record of building and training high performing organizations, ranging from successfully navigating complex policy situations in both interagency and international arenas to successfully managing complex engineering projects in naval nuclear systems.
Pat earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy where he graduated with distinction, and a Masters of Military Arts and Science degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He was a White House Fellow in the Office of Management and Budget serving as a special assistant to Sylvia Matthews and Sean O’Keefe. While at the Naval Academy, he rowed and was a member of the 1984 men’s heavyweight IRA national championship crew.
Pat is currently a Highly Qualified Expert – Senior Mentor for the Joint Staff, an independent consultant, and lecturer at Yale University. He is an undergraduate capstone faculty member at the Jackson School of Global Affairs (2023-2024).
