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.

Fostering Deep Insight through Substantive Play

by Ben Zweibelson Chapter 6 of: Design Thinking: Applications for the Australian Defence Force, ed.…

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The Multidisciplinary Design Movement: A Frame for Realizing Industry, Security, and Academia Interplay

Originally Published by Small Wars Journal: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/multidisciplinary-design-movement-frame-realizing-industry-security-and-academia-interplay The Multidisciplinary Design Movement: A Frame for Realizing…

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Creating the Design-Planning Bridge: Designing a NATO that Thinks Differently for 21st Century Complex Challenges

by BGen. Imre Porkolab, Mr. Ben Zweibelson   In the 21st Century, the international defense…

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Advanced Military Design, Panel of International Experts: IMDC Conference, Ottawa, CA

Panel (from left to right): Dr. Philippe Dufort (moderator), Ben Zweibelson (USSOCOM), Brig. Gen. Kevin…

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Put on Your Ruby Slippers and Start Exploring the Zone

By Brett Nesbitt & Ben Zweibelson Download PDF version If you are reading this then you…

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Intellectual spring cleaning: it’s time for a military “Do Not Read” list; and some sources that should be on that list

By Aaron P. Jackson, Ben Zweibelson and William Simonds Published in: Defence Studies, Vol. 18,…

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