Military Fellows

Name	Phone	Email
LTC F. John Burpo (USA)	617-253-8724	burpo@mit.edu
LTC Scott Jackson (USA)	617-253-4054	sjack_11@mit.edu
LtCol Thomas Pecina (USMC)	617-253-4054	pecina@mit.edu
Lt Col Karl C. Schloer (USAF)	617-258-9440	kschloer@mit.edu
LTC Douglas "D.A." Sims (USA)	617-258-9440	dasims@mit.edu

(from left to right: Karl Schloer, Tom Pecina, John Burpo, Scott Jackson, D.A. Sims)

Lieutenant Colonel F. John Burpo is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a planned completion date of October 2011. He received his BS in Mechanical (Aerospace) Engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, 1992, and a MS in Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2002.  After completing the Senior Service College Fellowship he will join the faculty at West Point as an Academy Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science.

LTC Burpo’s tactical assignments as an artillery officer include airborne, mechanized, and Stryker units.  His operational deployments include Operation Support Hope, Rwanda (1994), Operation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia (1995-1996), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2007-2008) where he served as Operations Officer for a 700 Soldier field artillery battalion task force operating as a maneuver unit in North Baghdad and Baqubah, Iraq.  He was selected for tactical artillery battalion command in 2007.

Lieutenant Colonel Scott Jackson entered the United States Army on 20 May 1990 upon receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant and graduation from the University of Notre Dame. As an Infantry Officer, LTC Jackson has served in leadership positions in Airborne, Air Assault, and Mechanized Infantry Units.

In April 2008, LTC Jackson assumed command of 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment.  Following an 8 month train up, the battalion deployed to Baghdad, serving in the districts of Adamiyah, Rusafa, and Taji, conducting combat and stability operations in support of the Iraqi authorities and security forces.

Most recently Lieutenant Colonel Jackson was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G3 (Operations and Plans) for the First Cavalry Division, stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas (Piglet) Pecina, was commissioned in 1992 after graduating from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology.  He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1995.  He participated in relief operations post hurricane Katrina and contingency/combat operations in the Ivory Coast and Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.  Lieutenant Colonel Pecina is particularly proud of his service with the Marines, Sailors and families of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 the “Ugly Angels.”  He deployed his squadron to Camp Bastion in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan from August 2010 to March 2011.  While deployed, the “Ugly Angels” operated 11 CH-53D Sea Stallion heavy lift helicopters and conducted day, night, and all-weather combat assault support missions supporting both Marine Corps Infantry and coalition partners within Regional Command (Southwest).

Prior to the fellowship at MIT, Lieutenant Colonel Schloer was assigned as System Program Director, Integrated Combat Systems, in the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO), Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, District of Columbia. Along with operational and training experience at the squadron level, his background spans a variety of air and space systems acquisition roles in the laboratory, program office, and staff environments.

He has served as a squadron intelligence officer, instructor, executive officer, project engineer, branch and division chief, program element monitor, and system program director. Lt Col Schloer is a graduate of MIT. He received his BS in Materials Science and Engineering in 1993.

Lieutenant Colonel Douglas A. Sims, II, was commissioned an Infantry officer in 1991 following graduation from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Sims was a rifle and scout platoon leader in the 3d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Ft. Bragg, NC, and a Ranger platoon leader in the 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Lewis, WA. He took command of 1st Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment in January 2009 and commanded the Squadron during combat operations in Uruzgan and Kandahar Provinces, Afghanistan, from June 2010 to May 2011.