Dr. Makovsky has worked extensively on U.S.-Israel defense ties, U.S. policy toward Iran, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, the Persian Gulf, the role of energy in U.S. national security policy, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Previously, he served as Foreign Policy Director for the Bipartisan Policy Center, special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and an energy market analyst for various investment firms.

Dr. Makovsky has written articles, op-eds and editorials for various publications on U.S. national security issues primarily involving the Middle East as well as energy markets. He is also author of Churchill’s Promised Land (Yale University Press), a diplomatic-intellectual history of Winston Churchill’s complex relationship with Zionism. He has a Ph.D. in diplomatic history from Harvard University, an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School, and a B.A. in history from the University of Chicago.

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VADM Bird graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He holds a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Catholic University of America and has completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI in Foreign Affairs, International Relations and National Security.

As a career submarine officer, VADM Bird has served on fast attack and ballistic missile submarines in both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. His assignments included, USS Seahorse (SSN 669), USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN 641), USS Sea Devil (SSN 664), USS Tunny (SSN 682), and USS Scranton (SSN 756) where he served as the commanding officer and was awarded the Naval Submarine League’s Jack Darby Award for Inspirational Leadership and Excellence in Command, and earned the Submarine Squadron Six (CSS-6) Battle Efficiency “E” for two consecutive years in 1994 and 1995. He commanded Submarine Squadron Eight (CSS-8) which included eight fast attack submarines in Norfolk, VA., from August 1999 to April 2001.

VADM Bird has served as special assistant (Legislative Affairs) to the chief of naval personnel; principal assistant in the Office of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare (Readiness and Tactics); division chief for Central, South and Southeast Asia (J5); the assistant deputy director for Political-Military Affairs Asia, J5, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the J3/J4 – director for Operations and Plans, Logistics and Engineering, United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), Norfolk, VA. He also has served as the 39th commander of Submarine Group 7, commander, Task Force 74, and commander Task Force 54 in Yokosuka, Japan.

VADM Bird assumed duties as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before becoming Commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet. Following his tour at the 7th Fleet, VADM Bird reported to the Pentagon and OPNAV staff as the Director of the Navy Staff.

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Most recently, Blaise was a Fellow at the Hudson Institute. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director of the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States, a congressionally mandated project convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace, and Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Program. He has testified before Congress and published widely—including op-eds in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New Republic, and Roll Call.

Blaise holds an M.Phil. in political science from Yale and an A.B. with honors from the University of Chicago.

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He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, majored in Ocean Engineering, and was graduated and commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in June 1975. Admiral Greenert completed studies in nuclear engineering and entered the nuclear submarine force.  Subsequently, he was certified to operate, manage and supervise naval nuclear reactor systems. His service in submarines culminated in command of the submarine USS HONOLULU (SSN 718) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

His Navy career has given him the opportunity to serve as: Commander, U.S. Forces Micronesia; Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Deputy Comptroller, Dept. of the Navy; Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Navy; Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet (Asia-Pacific); Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Vice Chief of Naval Operations (Deputy CEO/COO); and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO, 2011-2015).

Admiral Greenert and his family have enjoyed living in many different locations including Japan (2), Guam, Hawaii (3), Seattle, San Diego and Washington, D.C (6). He retired from military service in October 2015 and currently serves as a consultant, adviser and member of corporate boards.

Jon and his wife Darleen have been married for over 37 years, and are blessed with three children (all married), Jonathan, Brian and Sarah; three grandchildren; and a Golden Retriever, Maggie.

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General Ayish served in the IDF for 36 years and retired in 2016, concluding an accomplished career during which he attained the rank of Major General. Throughout his distinguished service, he served in core and operational command positions in the IDF ground forces and in senior command and managerial positions in the IDF General Staff. In his last position, General Ayish served for four years as Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States in Washington, D.C.

General Ayish was previously the Head of the IDF General Staff Operations Branch where he was responsible for planning and managing the operational activities of the Israeli Defense Forces according to political and strategic guidelines. He was also a member of the IDF General Staff forum, a position that was filled with sensitive and complex managerial challenges and which encompassed multidisciplinary systems and functional dynamism in an era of changes in the characteristics of all the arenas and the army’s activities.

Prior to this assignment, General Ayish headed the IDF’s overall renewal program. In this position, and in cooperation with the international consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., he worked to make structural and organizational changes, improve the efficiency of resource-rich work processes, consolidate plans for deep budget cuts, and plan for improved efficiency and savings.

General Ayish’s term as the Ground Forces Chief of Staff coincided with the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In this role, he managed the operational-organizational activities of the IDF’s ground forces, leading the creation of short and long-term work-plans with high-volume budget allocation. He also managed a large armament R&D project with special focus on programs for quality and efficient use of resources and infrastructures.

General Ayish’s other command and staff positions included his positions as commander of a multi-corps division, commander of the 7th Brigade (Armored Corps), and commander of the 82nd Battalion (Armored Corps).

General Ayish holds a BA degree in Social & Political Sciences from Haifa University and an Executive MBA degree from Tel Aviv University. He is a graduate of the British Military Command and Staff College in Camberley and Harvard University’s Senior Executives in National and International Security program in Boston.

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Ari is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he dual majored in Political Science and Judaic Studies. While in college, he interned at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy in their Military and Security Program and the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem. Ari received his Master of Arts in War Studies from King’s College London.

His writing has appeared in Bloomberg, Newsweek, The Hill, Defense News, Defense One, Breaking Defense, The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, Military Times, RealClearDefense, and The Jewish News Syndicate.

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