Ioannis Koskinas

Ioannis “Gianni” Koskinas spent 20 years almost entirely in the Air Force Special Operations Command (MC-130P/N, AC-130U, U-28) and in the Joint Special Operations Command. He also served on the Air Staff and Office of the Secretary of Defense (but somehow always found a way to deploy forward while “on staff”). After retirement in 2011, he served as President of the Global Initiatives Group and then Executive Vice President of the Asia Africa Projects Group, focusing on national security projects and natural resources development, respectively. He founded the Hoplite Group in 2013, a company mostly focused on working by, with, and through local networks to develop better understanding of operational environments. In his “spare time,” Gianni comments on foreign policy issues with an emphasis on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Greater Levant, as a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. He’s also on the Board of Advisors of the Special Operations Association of America. He has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Connecticut, as well as three Master’s degrees in Operational Art, Strategy, and International Relations.