Community of Practice

Honorary 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.

Escaping Single-Loop Thinking… to Get Stuck in the ‘Double-Loop’ of Non-Reflection in Military Strategy and Operational Planning Efforts

Original post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/escaping-single-loop-thinking-to-get-stuck-in-the-double-loop-of-non-reflection-in-military-1e67d07fe99b This is a section out of a recent…

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Single Loop Thinking: Non-Reflective Military Cycles of ENDS and MEANS

Original post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/single-loop-thinking-non-reflective-military-cycles-of-ends-and-means-c7643fe51290 This is a section out of a recent…

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Initiate: Handbook of Military Sciences – Performance Theory for Design Leadership

AOD Connect 2021: Initiate In this video Oliver Jones discuss his chapter, co-authored with Ben…

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Design Facilitations 101 for Online/Distance Education: The ‘Crowded Cabin’ Challenge

Original blog post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/design-facilitations-101-for-online-distance-education-the-crowded-cabin-challenge-35b74c2d36ee Groucho: “Listen, I’m getting the manicure. Get…

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Security Design Techniques, Methods and Facilitation Fundamentals: Using DIXIT Cards for Divergence Acceleration!

Original blog post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/security-design-techniques-methods-and-facilitation-fundamentals-using-dixit-cards-for-divergence-f02142d840f5 Ignoring the contradictory nature of organisations may…

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Understanding Emergence: How Complexity Theory Requires Getting Out of the Military’s Favored Newtonian Box

Original blog post can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/understanding-emergence-how-complexity-theory-requires-getting-out-of-the-militarys-favored-bf914e06f1e The above image is similar to one…

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