The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments welcomes Mark A. Gunzinger as the Center’s new Senior Fellow.
“Mr. Gunzinger brings nearly 35 years of strategic and force planning experience across the Department of Defense, as well as extensive operational expertise in the Air Force. Given his deep understanding national security policy, Mark will be an extraordinary asset in helping to inform the public debate on defense,” said CSBA’s President Andrew Krepinevich.
Mr. Gunzinger most recently served as a senior advisor to the Air Force for the 2010 QDR. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces Transformation and Resources. Mr. Gunzinger has been a key player in every major defense review since the end of the Cold War. He supported the Air Force Secretary during the 1993 Bottom-Up Review, 1994 Commission on Roles and Missions, and the 2001 QDR. He is the principal author or co-author of five Defense Planning Guidance/Guidance for the Development of Forces directives, the key strategic planning guidance documents that shape DoD force planning. A retired Air Force Colonel and Command Pilot with 3000+ flight hours, he joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2004, serving OSD/Policy as Director of Resources. He was promoted to the Senior Executive Service and served as Principal Director of the Department’s central staff for the 2005-2006 QDR. Following the 2006 QDR, he was appointed Director for Defense Transformation, Force Planning and Resources on the National Security Council staff where he championed defense priorities at the national level and played a major role in shaping the 2007 “surge” of US ground forces in Iraq.
“Mark joins us at an extremely opportune moment, as we focus our activities on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and the strategic direction of the Air Force,” notes CSBA’s Vice President for Strategic Studies, Jim Thomas, who worked with Mr. Gunzinger at the Pentagon.
Mr. Gunzinger holds a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College (1996), Master of Airpower Art and Science degree from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (1992), Master’s of Arts in Personnel Administration from Central Michigan University (1985) and Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry from the United States Air Force Academy (1977).
He is the recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service (2009), Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal (2006), Legion of Merit Medal (2003), and the Department of Defense Superior Service Medal (2000).