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Center for Homeland Defense alum Robert Wagner culminated a world tour of nations with a visit to the Republic of Armenia earlier this year, where he was joined by fellow CHDS alum Ryan Jerde in an effort to partner with the Eastern European nation to prepare it to counter weapons of mass destruction.
Wagner (Master’s Program cohort 1905/1906) represented the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Cooperative Threat Reduction Program while serving as Deputy Exercise Director and Exercise Control Group Director to help conduct and evaluate the Armenia Countering WMD Tabletop Exercise held in May, while Jerde (Master’s Program cohort 1603/1604) served as an independent evaluator of the exercise while working for The MITRE Corporation under support provided by the National Security Engineering Center (NSEC), a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) that MITRE operates on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD).
Noting the “sharply increasing competition with Russia in the region,” Wagner said the assignment in the landlocked former Soviet Union republic, located in the South Caucasus region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and bordering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iran, and having the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant within its borders, is “particularly vulnerable to WMDs and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats” and was a “very high-profile engagement” for DTRA.
DTRA’s goal of the Armenian exercise, he said, was to “compare Armenia’s existing Countering WMD capabilities against their desired level of competence” and had four main objectives, including evaluating the nation’s ability to conduct risk assessments of CBRN threats, operational coordination amongst the Armenian interagency, information and intelligence-sharing capabilities, and, finally, ability to conduct crisis communications and counter disinformation.
Wagner said the Armenia exercise was the first time he had met and worked with Jerde, adding that they discovered their shared connection to CHDS on their first day of the trip and said they created an “instant bond.” “Such connections are invaluable when addressing tough, geopolitically sensitive problems in the far corners of the world,” he said. Jerde said he was surprised and pleased to meet a fellow CHDS alum in Armenia. “It made the exciting and rigorous experience even better working with Bob.”
Wagner said he was recruited by DTRA Proliferation Prevention Program Project Officer for Armenia Elizabeth DuFrane for the assignment, leveraging his expertise in CBRN response, crisis management, and exercise design and conduct after previously working with her during the Jordan Shield 23 Field Training Exercise in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan last year.
In addition to Armenia and Jordan, Wagner has worked in Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Italy, and also provided support to projects in Iraq, Morocco, Malaysia, and Ukraine.
Jerde said MITRE selected him for the assignment to Armenia because of his expertise in international border security. Prior to working for MITRE, Jerde was a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), where he investigated narcotics trafficking, immigration fraud, and customs violations, and supervised groups responsible for investigating counterterrorism, gangs, financial, and cybercrimes. HSI’s investigations have cross-border connections and focus on transnational criminal organizations. In addition to working for HSI, Jerde began his career as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent with assignments in Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. His border experience translated perfectly into support for the DTRA exercises in Armenia.
Wagner was originally scheduled to return to Armenia for the subsequent Field Training Exercise with Jerde in September but ended up starting a new job as an Exercise Program Manager (EPM) for the FEMA National Exercise Division’s Homeland Security Section, where he has been appointed Deputy Lead EPM for the 2025 Counting and Certification of Electoral Votes & Inauguration National Special Security Events-Tabletop Exercises In his new role, he is working alongside another CHDS Alum, Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge Marcy Gallagher (Master’s Program cohort 1905/1906) at the United States Secret Service Dignitary Protective Division.
Wagner said the opportunity to lend his expertise to partner nations has been as satisfying as it has been unexpected given where he started just a few years ago, and he credits CHDS for boosting his career. He noted that, when he began attending CHDS, he was a firefighter for the Indianapolis, IN, Fire Department, then during the program he moved on to serve as a Department of the Army training instructor working in line with his CHDS thesis research on urban search and rescue after a nuclear attack, and in 2022 began working in support of the DTRA’s Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Wagner was also commissioned as a U.S. Navy Reserve Officer and was sworn in during the 2023 APEX event by Naval Postgraduate School President Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau (ret.).
“My CHDS education completely changed the trajectory of my career,” he said. “Just three years ago, if you had told me that I would be helping run an exercise in Armenia, I would not have believed it. My career evolved from line-level emergency response to strategic-level international security. I call it an evolution because I’m simply applying everything that I learned and experienced as a responder to solve higher-order national security problems, which has been my aim since graduating from CHDS.”
Wagner said his CHDS education prepared him in three major ways: by diversifying his knowledge base and teaching him how to apply his experience as an emergency responder to tackle strategic-level security challenges and how to adjust to a dynamic work environment where he is expected to be a “Swiss Army Knife of sorts when it comes to problem-solving and areas of knowledge”; how to formulate the right questions when approaching the internal security problems of foreign partners, which he said are “not much different than our own”; and, by providing him instant credibility when developing professional relationships in embassies throughout the world, particularly with Foreign Affairs Officers, many of whom have also attended NPS, which he said “creates an instant bond of shared experiences” that is “invaluable when working on the other side of the globe.”
Jerde also acknowledged CHDS for career advancement with HSI and MITRE, and, like Wagner, the education he received helped prepare him for the unique work in Armenia. He was a group supervisor for HSI when he attended the CHDS Master’s program and he said he was extremely impressed by how professor lectures and coursework pushed him out of his comfort zone to bring new concepts into the challenges of homeland security.
To further his development, Jerde challenged himself with a thesis topic involving disruptive internet technologies and how those technologies impact border crime. He looked at the original Silk Road investigation, an investigation HSI was instrumental in working, and the complications of attribution when crime occurs in the dark web while using pseudo-anonymous cryptocurrency. Thanks to advice and support from CHDS thesis advisors, Jerde said he was able to incorporate design theory concepts to understand the complications of border-related crime in the digital world. He said his CHDS studies and thesis work ultimately changed his career path at HSI and when the HSI Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. field office learned of Jerde’s studies and thesis he was assigned as the cyber investigations group supervisor.
“Being willing to challenge oneself and try new ways to solve problems is essential in a complex world,” adding, “Armenia is part of that complex world. I agree with (Wagner) that Armenia is in a complicated geo-political environment and must properly navigate the threats from WMD. DTRA has done a lot to uniquely support the Government of Armenia.”
Jerde worked in federal law enforcement for 25 years before retiring from HSI in 2021. He said he feels very fortunate to have had such a diverse career and a second career now with MITRE. As the not-for-profit operator of multiple FFRDCs, MITRE is placed in a unique position of supporting the government as an unbiased evaluator. MITRE’s mission of solving problems for a safer world gives opportunities to work in places like Armenia with DTRA and Wagner, he said.
“It really is true that one of the most important takeaways of attending a master’s degree (program) at CHDS is the network you build of professor and student homeland security professionals,” Jerde said. “Armenia is an incredible place, and I am better for having worked there with (Wagner).”
The author’s affiliation with The MITRE Corporation is provided for identification purposes only and is not intended to convey or imply MITRE’s concurrence with, or support for, the positions, opinions, or viewpoints expressed by the author.
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