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.

Rose-tinted lenses: how American functionalist strategy inhibits our appreciation of complex conflicts

Abstract: Strategists and military professionals have previously questioned many of the methodological (theoretical underpinnings, the…

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One piece at a time: why linear planning and institutionalisms promote military campaign failures

Abstract: The recent strategic failures in Iraq and Afghanistan for military coalitions illustrate that we…

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Gravity-free Decision-making: Avoiding Clausewitz’s Strategic Pull

Executive summery: While many elements of Carl von Clausewitz’s seminal work On War are entrenched…

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Military ‘Deep Dives’ and Organizational Management: The Continuing Hazards of Hubris, Centralized Hierarchies, and Insular Perspectives

  [html] full text via Small Wars Journal Download PDF

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