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.

Rhizomes: In Paradox to ‘Centers of Gravity’ and Centralized Hierarchies in War

Original Blog can be found here: https://benzweibelson.medium.com/rhizomes-in-paradox-to-centers-of-gravity-and-centralized-hierarchies-in-war-b211a92ed23a This is an excerpt from a design monograph that…

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[Editorial] Designing in Complex Security Contexts: Enabling Frame Awareness through Sharks, Dollar Signs, and Police Badges

Read original article: Designing in Complex Security Contexts: Enabling Frame Awareness through Sharks, Dollar Signs,…

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Designing in Complex Security Contexts: Enabling Frame Awareness through Sharks, Dollar Signs, and Police Badges

Abstract: Over the last decade, the emergence of military design theorists, educators, and practitioners has…

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Strategic Design Fundamentals – What Does it Mean? By Dr. Ben Zweibelson

Part 3 of 4: Dr. Ben Zweibelson presents the fundamentals of Design and their meanings.

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Member of the Week: Ben Zweibelson

AOD’s Member of the Week: Dr. Ben Zweibelson is a lead educator, theorist and facilitator…

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Designing with Multiple Futures: Transforming conventional planning/strategy making

In this stand-alone 55 minute educational module, the design team at “Think JSOU” (the Joint…

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