CNAS is thrilled to announce that Michele Flournoy, our President and Co-Founder, was confirmed by the Senate and sworn-in last week as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. While we will miss Michele's leadership, drive, and deep knowledge of national security issues, we know she will do great things for the country and the Department of Defense.
Michele's appointment underscores the transition that CNAS itself is undergoing, and so we wish to take this opportunity to make several announcements about our organization and its ongoing mission of developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security policies.
Staff Changes
Dr. John Nagl, acclaimed author, West Point graduate, Rhodes scholar, retired Army officer, and Bronze Star recipient, will replace Michele as President of CNAS. John is widely respected for co-writing the U.S. Army's counterinsurgency field manual, for his book Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife, and for his willingness to guide and mentor members of the younger generation of national security leaders.
Nate Tibbits, our former Chief Operating Officer, has accepted a position in Presidential Personnel dealing with national security personnel. We are pleased to announce Nathaniel Fick as our new Chief Operating Officer. Nate Fick, author of the New York Times bestseller One Bullet Away, is a former Marine officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq before attending the Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School.
In addition to John and Nate, we've also added a distinguished senior fellow to our ranks: Thomas Ricks, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, and author of The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq 2006-2008, published this week.
Board Moves
We are pleased to announce that with the completion of former Secretary of Defense William Perry's tenure as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Honorable Richard J. Danzig has taken the helm as Chairman of the Board. We thank Secretary Perry for his leadership and guidance as Chairman, and look forward to continuing to work closely with him as a member of the Board. Richard Danzig, one of this nation's premier defense and national security practitioners and most committed public servants, will help build on the strong foundation Secretary Perry established.
We are pleased to announce that the Honorable R. Nicholas Burns, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, has joined the Board of Directors of CNAS. We could not be more excited to have such a fine public servant as part of the CNAS family.