Community of Practice

AOD Guild Council Members

Ben Zweibelson

Ben Zweibelson is the Director for the U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG) located at Colorado Springs, Colorado as of February 2022.

Previously, Ben was the lead design educator/facilitator for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) through the Joint Special Operations University as a full-time contractor from January 2015 through February 2022 (7 years). During that period, Ben provided design education and real-world facilitation across USSOCOM, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Government, academia and industry as well as internationally and at numerous war colleges and military programs/units.

A retired U.S. Army Infantry officer and veteran of multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ben has an undergraduate degree (BA in Fine Arts) in Graphic Design from the University of Connecticut, three different master’s degrees (Louisiana State University, Air Command and Staff College, US Army School of Advanced Military Studies) and a doctorate in Philosophy from Lancaster University (UK).

While in the Army, he earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Air Assault Badge, and the Ranger Tab. He was awarded four Bronze Star Medals during combat deployments in addition to numerous other awards and citations.

How Bombing and Demolition Formulas Carved Illusions of Control

Original blog post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/how-bombing-and-demolitions-formulas-carved-illusions-of-control-f492cbd20f31 This is an excerpt from a design…

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Ways with Means: No End to Military Fixation on Capacities and Capabilities

Original blog post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/ways-with-means-no-end-to-military-fixation-on-capacities-and-capabilities-dc270ac9e815 This is an excerpt from a design…

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Isolation Exercises in Warfare: Constructing Quadrants of SWOT Logic and why this is Unhealthy

Original blog can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/isolation-exercises-in-warfare-constructing-quadrants-of-swot-logic-and-why-this-is-unhealthy-805cfe539540 This is an excerpt from a design monograph…

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Moving Beyond ‘Problem-Solution’ Logics in Military Decision-Making

Original blog can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/moving-beyond-problem-solution-logics-in-military-decision-making-7ca496acb26c This is an excerpt from a design monograph…

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Newton’s Gravitational Pull and Modern Warfare Ritualization

Original blog can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/newtons-gravitational-pull-and-modern-warfare-ritualization-38e6669bb31d This is an excerpt from a design monograph…

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The Limits of Technical Rationalism: NATO-OPP/JPP’s Institutional Baggage

Original blog can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/the-limits-of-technical-rationalism-nato-opp-jpps-institutional-baggage-21cd7a8a13d6 This is an excerpt from a design monograph…

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