Adm. Sam Paparo, a native of Morton, Pennsylvania graduated from Villanova University and was commissioned in 1987. He is the son of a former enlisted Marine and the grandson of a World War II enlisted Sailor. He has earned a Master of Arts in International Studies from Old Dominion University and a Master of Science in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School.

A U.S. Naval Aviator, he is a TOPGUN graduate and has flown over 6,000 hours in the F-14, F-15 and F/A-18 and 1,100 carrier landings.

Operational command tours at sea include Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195 in the Forward Deployed Naval Forces, Yokosuka, Japan, deploying in Kitty Hawk Strike Group; VFA 106, NAS Oceana, Va; Commander, Carrier Air Wing 7, embarked in Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group and Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10.

Other operational assignments at sea include Fighter Squadron (VF) 14, flying the F-14 Tomcat with USS John F. Kennedy and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Groups and VFA-15, flying the F/A-18 Hornet with USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Enterprise Strike Groups.

In joint operational service, he was Director of Operations (J3) at U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Florida; Battle Director at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Al Udeid, Qatar; and Commanding Officer of Provincial Reconstruction Team, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He served also on exchange duty with the U.S. Air Force flying the F-15C Eagle with the 71st Fighter Squadron, deploying multiple times to Saudi Arabia and Keflavik, Iceland.

Shore assignments include the staff of Commander, Naval Air Forces, as F/A-18 training, readiness and requirements officer. He was Programming Division (OPNAV N80), Strategy and Resource and Requirements Review Board branch head.

Executive staff tours include service as executive assistant to Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and executive assistant to the 31st Chief of Naval Operations.

His most recent assignment was commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, Manama, Bahrain.

CAPT Brian “Hinks” Hinkley, USN (Ret) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983, and earned his wings of gold as a naval flight officer in November 1984. He served 27 proud years as an electronic countermeasures officer (ECMO), retiring in May 2010. Hinks accumulated over 2700 flight hours and 600 traps while deploying aboard multiple aircraft carriers and participating in combat operations over Libya, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq. Other highlights of his career include commanding the VAQ-135 Black Ravens for Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, and being selected as the first Commander of Joint CREW Composite Squadron ONE (JCCS-1) in 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq where he led Joint efforts resulting in significant reduction of casualties from Radio-Controlled IEDs. JCCS-1 proved undeniably that control of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) wins battles and saves lives. Hinks culminated his naval career developing the Navy’s first Fleet Electronic Warfare Center (FEWC).

A combat-proven leader, Hinks has briefed key officials on the operational impacts of EW, including members of Congress, the SECDEF, SECNAV, CJCS, CNO and industry executives, linking Congressional advocacy, industry and DoD in a united effort to navigate the ever-changing waters of EW, EMSO, IW and Cyber. In industry, he has been instrumental in the development of an Electromagnetic Spectrum Campaign, building AECOM into a nationally recognized, operationally relevant EMS services provider. A PMI-certified Project Management Professional (PMP), he performs Business Development, Capture and Program Management for Federal EW and EMS opportunities. As a member of the International AOC Board of Directors for five years, he currently sits on the Board of Governors, having held positions as Chair for the AOC Ethics Committee, Awards Committee, and the Membership Committee.

Dan Altman is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University. His research examines issues of international security, focusing on questions of strategy and statecraft on the brink of war. His interests include territorial conquest, the fait accompli, red lines, deterrence, coercion failure, nuclear proliferation, and the causes of war. He is developing two books, Territorial Conquest Since 1945 and Challenging Deterrence: Understanding Limited Deterrence Failures. His research is published or forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Strategic Studies, the Nonproliferation Review, and Security Studies. He was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Belfer Center (Harvard Kennedy School), a postdoctoral fellow at the Dickey Center (Dartmouth), and a predoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (Stanford). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT.