Military Fellows

Name	Phone	Email
LtCol John Christopher (USMC)	617-258-4054	jpchris@mit.edu
Col Kirk Dorr (USA)	617-258-9440	kirkdorr@mit.edu
Col David Pendall (USA)	617-258-4054	dpendall@mit.edu
LtCol Stephen M. Russell (USAF)	617-258-9440	sterus7@mit.edu

(from left to right: John Christopher, Dave Pendall, Kirk Dorr, Steve Russell)

Lieutenant Colonel John P. Christopher is the Marine Corps Fellow at the MIT Security Studies Program. He was commissioned in the United State Marine Corps in 1991, and later attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where he studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute, and was awarded a Master’s Degree in National Security Affairs.  In 2000, he was transferred to the Marine Security Guard Battalion and served as an Assistant Security Assistance Officer at the American Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia.  He simultaneously attended the Senior Staff Course at the Baltic Defense College, graduating in 2001. In 2004 he attended the Naval War College, where he was honored as the Distinguished Intelligence Graduate of the Naval Command and Staff Course.

In October 2001, he was selected for special duty attached to the United States Army’s 2d Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group and served in both Uzbekistan and Afghanistan prior to the introduction of conventional US forces. Upon his return to Camp Lejeune, he was transferred to 2d Intelligence Battalion where he served as the Commanding Officer of the Production and Analysis Company.  Redeploying to the United States Central Command Theater of Operations, he commanded the 2d Intelligence Battalion Detachment attached to the 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Task Force Tarawa) taking part in the initial invasion of Iraq.  More recently, in 2007, LtCol Christopher took command of 3d Radio Battalion at Kaneohe Bay, HI. The battalion supported operations in the Philippines, Afghanistan, and supported the 31st  Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Colonel Kirk Dorr joins the MIT Security Studies Program as a Military Fellow following his assignment at the U.S. Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA, where he served as the Senior Reconnaissance Trainer. He has held a wide variety of assignments in armor, cavalry and infantry units, and deployed with combat tours in Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Colonel Dorr has also served in unique assignments with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Army Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Colonel Dorr's military education includes the School of Advanced Military Studies, the U.S Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses. He has earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Old Dominion University; a Master’s degree in Education from Kansas State University; and a Master’s degree in Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.

Colonel David Pendall is an Army National Security Fellow at the MIT Security Studies Program with a special focus on Biometrics and Forensic Capabilities for National Security at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.  Previously, he was the CJ2 for Regional Command-East/CJTF-1 in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom), concurrently the G2 of the First Cavalry Division.  Other previous assignments include Deputy Chief of Future Operations and Future Operations Intelligence Plans Chief in the NATO/ International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, ISR Plans Chief with US Army Europe and 7th Army, the US Director of the US-Turkey Combined Fusion Center in Ankara, Turkey, 7th Army ACE Chief, V Corps ACE Chief, and V Corps G2 planner in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). 

Colonel Pendall is a graduate of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College and the Army War College’s Defense Strategy Course.  He holds a Masters in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Masters in Military Arts and Science from the Army's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS).

Lt Col Stephen M. Russell was Commander of the 746th Test Squadron, 46th Test Group, Holloman Air Force Base, NM before coming to MIT’s Security Studies Program. Prior to that assignment, he served as System Program Director for a $2.4B classified program with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and Chief of Special Projects for the Air Force Red Team.  His background also includes assignments with the Air Staff, Naval War College, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Air Force Flight Test Center, Air Force Test Pilot School, Air Force Institute of Technology, National Air Intelligence Center and the 91st Missile Wing. 

Colonel Russell is a distinguished graduate of the Naval Command and Staff College, the US Air Force Test Pilot School and Squadron Officer School.  He holds a BS in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, a MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a PhD in Electro-Optics from the University of Dayton.