Robin Allers is an Associate Professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS) where he has worked as senior researcher, head of department for international security and head of the international research program Security and Defence in Northern Europe. His research focuses on European security policy and Norway’s security and defence relations with close allies such as Germany. He coordinates the Norwegian defence sector’s competence network Germany.

Allers has studied history at the University of Hamburg, where he in 2007 completed a doctoral degree (Dr. phil) with a dissertation on German-Norwegian relations and EU enlargement negotiations during Willy Brandt’s time in government. He also studied at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris/Sciences Po (1995–96) and was an intern and research assistant at the National Security Archive in Washington, DC and at the German Historical Institute in Paris (1997–98). As doctoral student and DAAD scholar, Allers was guest researcher at ARENA – center for European studies at the University of Oslo (2001–02), and from 2007 to 2009 he was affiliated with the Forum for Contemporary History at the University of Oslo’s Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History.

Robin Allers teaches, supervises dissertations, and gives talks and lectures on topics such as German, Norwegian, and European security policy, NATO and transatlantic relations, the history of European integration, and the EU as an international actor. At the Norwegian Defence University College, he is program manager for the master’s program Master in military studies, Norway's highest professional military education.

Dr. Olga R. Chiriac is a cognitive scientist, author and professor. She is the Project Europe Director with the Irregular Warfare Initiative (joint production of Princeton’s Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and the Modern War Institute at West Point) and Visiting Professor at the University of Bucharest where she leads engagement for the Black Sea Program. Dr. Chiriac is affiliated as an Associated Researcher with the Joint Special Operations University in Tampa, Florida and the Economic Conflict & Competition Research Group (ECCRG) at Kings College, London.
Prior to this; Dr. Chiriac was selected a Title VIII US State Department Research Fellow and she worked as an Associated Researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies, Bucharest.
Her book: “Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation: Implications for Black Sea Security” was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2024.

Timothy G. Heck is an artillery officer by training. Currently employed as a supervisory historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command, he previously was the deputy editorial director at the Modern War Institute at West Point. He was also an assistant professor in the Defense and Strategic Studies program at West Point. As a Marine reservist, he is a joint historian with the Joint History and Research Office and Marine Corps History Division. He has coedited two volumes of On Contested Shores: The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare (Marine Corps University Press, 2020 and 2024) and Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences (Army University Press, 2023). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5270-2341

Dr. Henry J. “Jerry” Hendrix, PhD is a retired Navy Captain, having served 26 years on active duty following his commissioning through the Navy ROTC program at Purdue University. During his career Hendrix served in a variety of maritime patrol aviation squadrons as well as on supercarriers and light amphibious assault ships. His shore duty assignments were as a strategist on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Secretary of the Navy, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and within the Office of Net Assessment. Through these tours Dr. Hendrix established a reputation for using history to illuminate current strategic challenges. Following his retirement from the Navy following a standout tour as the Director of the Navy History and Heritage Command, he has worked as a senior fellow the Center for a New American Security and as a vice president at a Washington, DC defense consultancy. Dr. Hendrix holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in political science, a masters in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, a masters in history from Harvard University, and a PhD in war studies from Kings College, London. He joins the Sagamore Institute with the expectation of continuing to approach the nation’s defense challenges with the solid pragmatic outlook of a native Hoosier farmer, which he proudly is.

Dr. Sarah Kirchberger is the Director of the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK) and Head of its Department for Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security. Her current work focuses on maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian–Chinese military relations, China’s arms industries, and China’s naval and space development. Before joining ISPK, Kirchberger served as Assistant Professor of Contemporary China at the University of Hamburg, and previously worked as a naval analyst with shipbuilder Blohm + Voss. She is the author of Assessing China's Naval Power: Technological Innovation, Economic Constraints, and Strategic Implications (2015). She completed undergraduate and graduate studies in Sinology, Political Science and Archaeology in Hamburg, Taipei and Trier and holds an MA and a PhD in Sinology from the University of Hamburg.

Dr. Daria Isachenko is an Associate at the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). She studied International Relations at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and holds a PhD from the Humboldt University in Berlin. Before joining the SWP, she had teaching and research experience in peace and conflict studies. Her current research interests include Turkey-Russia relations, the Black Sea, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and regional cooperation in Eurasia.

Rear Admiral Ralf Kuchler was born on November 7, 1969, in Kiel.

Since 2023, he has been serving as the Commander of the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg. Prior to this role, he was the Head of Office of the Chief of Defence at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin from 2021 to 2023. From 2018 to 2021, he commanded Flotilla 2 in Wilhelmshaven, after serving as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the same flotilla from 2017 to 2018.

Between 2016 and 2017, Kuchler was the Chief of Branch FüSK II 1 at the Directorate-General for Forces Policy in the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin and temporarily Head of Office for the Director-General for Forces Policy. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Military Assistant to the Chief of Defence at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin.

Kuchler's earlier roles include Commanding Officer of the frigate Hamburg (2011-2013) and Assistant Chief of Section for EU Capability Development, as well as German Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee and the EU in Brussels (2009-2011). He was the Executive Officer of the frigate Karlsruhe from 2008 to 2009, and from 2007 to 2008, he served as Assistant Chief of Branch, Armed Forces Staff VI 2, at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn.

From 2005 to 2007, Kuchler was a Desk Officer at the Naval Staff III 1, Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn. He completed the 45th Admiral Staff Officer Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg between 2003 and 2005. Earlier, he served as Principal Air Defence Officer and Operations Officer on the frigate Sachsen (2001-2003), and as Principal War Officer Underwater on the frigate Lübeck (2000-2001).

Kuchler participated in a Personnel Exchange Program (PEP) with the Netherlands from 1998 to 2000, where he attended an Air Defence course and served as Officer of the Deck and Navigator on various Dutch vessels. He underwent Dutch language training at the Federal Office of Languages in 1998. From 1996 to 1998, he was the ASW Officer and Artillery Officer on the destroyer Rommel, and he took the advanced officer training course at the Naval Academy in Mürwik from 1995 to 1996.

He started his naval career in 1989, entering the Bundeswehr and receiving officer training on the sail training ship Gorch Fock, followed by a Navy internship with the submarine flotilla. He studied Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg from 1990 to 1994.

Vice Admiral Frank Lenski is Commander of the German Fleet and Supporting Forces and Vice Chief of the German Navy, German Navy Headquarters, Rostock. He assumed the second-highest position in the German Navy in March 2022, having served previously as Chief of Staff to previous Navy leaders.

VAdm Lenski joined the Bundeswehr in 1981 and received officer training at the Naval Academy Mürwik, Flensburg, as well as training vessels “Gorch Fock” and “Deutschland” until 1984. He holds a degree in aerospace engineering from the Bundeswehr University in Munich (1989). His operational posts included training as aircraft engineering officer/airworthiness re-verification inspector for weapon system Mk88 Sea Lynx at GKN Westland, Yeovil (United Kingdom), various assignments as aircraft engineering officer, head of engineering (shipboard operations) and security group, chief evaluator, and finally squadron commander at Naval Air Wing 3 “Graf Zeppelin”, Nordholz. Among other things, he attended the 38th admiral staff officer course, Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, Hamburg.

Salvatore Mercogliano, Associate Professor of History and chair of the History, Criminal Justice and Political Science Department at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, earned his B.S. in Marine Transportation from the State University of New York Maritime College along with his merchant marine deck officer license.  He sailed for the Military Sealift Command (MSC).

He left government service to pursue his M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University and his Ph.D. in Military and Naval History at the University of Alabama. Professor Mercogliano has produced articles for Sea History, The Nautical Research Journal, Northern Mariner, Proceedings, Naval History, and the Journal of Military History.  He is a frequent contributor to gCaptain and a guest on FreightwavesTV.  His monogram, Fourth Arm of Defense: Sealift and Maritime Logistics in the Vietnam War was published by the Naval History & Heritage Command and Naval Historical Foundation in 2017.

He has taught at Methodist University, East Carolina University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the U.S. Military Academy.  He is an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy offering a course in Maritime Industry Policy.  At Campbell University, he was twice named Professor of the Year, the recipient of the D. P. Russ Jr., and Walter S. Jones, Sr. Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence, and he received the Excellence in Teaching award from the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.  

In 2021 he began the What's Going on With Shipping YouTube channel following the grounding of the containership Ever Given in the Suez Canal.  Since then, the channel has grown to over 190 thousand subscribers and 30 million views.

Adm. Stuart Munsch, a native of North Dakota and a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. While at the U.S. Naval Academy, he was brigade commander of his class and an All-American and national champion pistol shooter. He was selected for a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Oxford University and earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

He then was assigned to four consecutive sea duty assignments, serving on USS Will Rogers (SSBN 659), USS Jefferson City (SSN 759), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) on the staff of Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group 5, and USS Tucson (SSN 770).

In 1999, Munsch reported ashore to U.S. Pacific Command, where he served in the Plans and Policy Directorate (J5) prior to becoming deputy executive assistant to the commander. He then was selected for a White House Fellowship and served as special assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture.

Munsch commanded USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) from 2002 to 2005, followed by duty in the Pentagon as the military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and then as executive assistant to the Director, Submarine Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N87).

Munsch commanded Submarine Development Squadron (DEVRON) 5 from 2008 to 2010 and then returned to the Pentagon to head the Navy Strategy branch (OPNAV N513). Selected for flag rank, he was reassigned as deputy director, Undersea Warfare (OPNAV N97).

Munsch was assigned overseas to Japan and Bahrain, Munsch commanded Submarine Group 7 and Task Forces 74 and 54 from 2013 to 2015, followed by duty in the Pentagon as the senior military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

In 2017 he reported to OPNAV N3/N5 and in 2018 became the deputy chief of naval operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy.

In 2019 he established and served as the initial deputy chief of naval operations for Warfighting Development, N7. From 2020 to 2022 he served on the Joint Staff as director for Joint Force Development (J7).

Munsch assumed his current role in June 2022 as commander of Allied Joint Force Command, located in Naples, Italy. In this capacity, he directs a combined NATO staff responsible for planning, preparing and conducting military operations throughout the Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s area of responsibility.

He concurrently serves as commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa, where his area of responsibility encompasses the waters bordering the coasts of Europe and Africa, including the Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Seas.

Munsch is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. Supreme Court Statecraft Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI Fellow and recipient of the U.S. Navy League's Decatur Award for operational excellence.

His awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (five awards) and several unit awards shared with shipmates.

CAPT (DEU N) Dr. André Pecher was born on October 30, 1971, in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein.

Dr. Pecher joined the German Navy in 1992 as an officer candidate and completed his initial training at the Naval Academy Mürwik in Flensburg. He studied history, educational science, and political science at the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg from 1994 to 1998. Following his studies, he underwent operational and submarine officer training and served as an operational officer on various submarine classes until 2005.

In 2005, he completed the field-grade officer qualification course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg. He subsequently worked as a research assistant at the Helmut Schmidt University and attended the Joint Command and Staff Course at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, Canada, where he also earned a Master's degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston.

Dr. Pecher has held several key positions, including company commander at the Petty Officer School in Plön, military assistant to the Chief of the Navy at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn, and staff officer for military history at the Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Studies in Potsdam. He has also served as an advisor in various roles within the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin and at the Armed Forces Office in Bonn.

Throughout his career, Dr. Pecher has been promoted through the ranks, achieving the rank of Commander Senior Grade in 2018. He has received several awards, including the Gold Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr and the NATO Medal for Operation Active Endeavour.

Dr. Pecher is proficient in several languages, including English (SLP 3332), French (beginner/intermediate), Latin (advanced) and Spanish.

His academic credentials include a Master of Arts from the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg, a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston, and a Ph.D. from the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg.

Captain Puga (OF-6) was born in Paris in June 1980.
He entered in the naval academy in 2000 and joined the Fly Navy in 2004 as a pilot. He was then selected to be trained as an Hawkeye pilot and was formed with the US navy in Northfolk, Virginia. Back in France in 2007, he served in the Hawkeye 4F Squadron and took part in every missions of the French carrior strike group. In the meantime, he was assigned to the French naval Academy as instructor for cadets for two years. He then took the commandement of the 4F Squadron in 2015, and participated on board CVN Charles de Gaulle to the carrior stike group missions “Arromanches” 2 and 3 over Irak and Syria.

The second part of his career started after the war college. He was assigned to the Navy’s headquarter in Tours in charge as retailer for the fly navy officers. Operations officer of the aircraft carrior “Charles de Gaulle” from 2020 to 2021, he served as Commanding officer of the frigate “Guépratte” since January 2022. In july 2023, he joined the Naval Staff, as Head of Strategic and Political affairs.

During his career, Commander Puga carried out differents missions, mainly with the French aircraft carrier, in Mediterrean sea and in the Middle East area.

Mike Utley is the Commander of NATO’s Allied Maritime Command. He is NATO’s principal maritime adviser and has operational command of NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1988 with his early years spent at sea as a Bridge Watchkeeper, Navigator and Principal Warfare Officer. This period included operational deployments to the Mediterranean, East and West Africa, the Gulf, Atlantic, Caribbean and Far East.

Commands at various ranks have included a patrol boat (HMS EXPLOIT), two offshore patrol vessels (HMS LEEDS CASTLE and HMS TYNE), the type 23 frigate HMS PORTLAND and the amphibious aircraft carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS, during which he was awarded an Operational OBE for his service in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. He also served as Commander Sea Training where he was responsible for preparing warships, both UK and Allied, for operational deployments across the world. He commanded NATO’s at sea High Readiness Task Group in the Mediterranean, conducting maritime operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. He assumed command of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group in 2018, driving the operational training programme and integration between the aircraft carrier HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and the F35-B fighter jet through WESTLANT 18 and 19 deployments.

Shore appointments have primarily focused on the Ministry of Defence in London, including as the Military Assistant and Deputy Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Staff, the maritime staff officer within Defence Operational Capability and as the Deputy Head of the NATO and European Policy Team. He has also defined and managed project requirements within Defence Procurement and has been responsible for the appointing and career progression of hundreds of officers as a Career Manager.

As a Rear Admiral (2019) he was appointed Commander of the United Kingdom’s Strike Force, the Royal Navy’s deployable 2* operational commander at five days’ notice to deploy and command operations across the Strike Enterprise. This period also included duty as NATO’s HRF(M) MCC and as the Race and Cultural Advocate of the Royal Navy. Promoted to Vice Admiral, he assumed his current appointment in January 2023.

Mike Utley, a Freeman of the Worshipful Companies of Shipwrights and Lightmongers, is a graduate of both Advanced and Higher Command and Staff Courses and is a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies. He lives in South Wales with his wife and five daughters. He enjoys walking, fishing and his lifelong passion for rugby.

Dr. Alix Valenti is a defence and security expert with over 15 years of international work experience. As a defence and security journalist focusing on naval procurement and strategy around the world she has published articles in a wide variety of defence media, including IHS Jane's, Shephard Media and Armada International; she was also editor in chief of Naval Forces for two years.
Dr Valenti also regularly works on projects for the European Commission in the area of justice and home affairs. She holds a PhD in Development Planning from UCL, where she studied the impact of international organisations on the institutional and urban reconstruction of countries after conflict.