Lieutenant Colonel Liam Collins is Acting Director of the Combating Terrorism Center and an instructor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is a career special forces officer who has served in a variety of special operations assignments and has conducted multiple combat operations to both Afghanistan and Iraq as well as operational deployments to Bosnia, Africa and South America. He has graduated from numerous military courses including ranger school and he has earned numerous military awards and decorations including two valorous awards for his actions in combat. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Military Academy, a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and is presently completing his doctoral dissertation at Princeton University. His research centers on military innovation during times of war. He has taught courses on homeland security and defense, international relations and American politics.

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