ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

CISA graduates form a global network encompassing more than 2,000 graduates from 110 countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This network also includes over 600 alumni from U.S. government agencies and all branches of the military services, including the Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency, Office of Naval Intelligence, National Counterterrorism Center, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Transportation, Department of State, and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. 

Story | July 2, 2024

Three CISA-JSOMA Alumni Selected as NDU Scholars for AY2024

This spring, three CISA alumni from our Ft. Liberty Joint Special Operations Master of Arts Program’s (JSOMA) Class of 2024 successfully completed the competitive NDU Scholars Program. In total, eight students across NDU were selected as NDU Scholars. Read their project descriptions below:

 

MAJ Adam Cvetkovski
"ARSOF’s Elephant in the Room: Mission Command within the Laotian Civil War"

For his NDU Scholars project, MAJ Cvetkovski researched how to best enable U.S. Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) within global strategic competition and effectively connect guidance from policymakers to the tactical level. Using the Laotian Civil War as a case study, he notes the severe disconnect between policy and what was occurring at the tactical level and compares it to the broader observation of the principles of mission command, specifically towards ARSOF. MAJ Cvetkovski believes the NDU Scholars program made his research worthwhile and meaningful. He remarks that his experience at NDU has changed how he interacts with information and how senior leaders view the world and the issues we face today.

 

CPT Cassie McDonald 
"Beyond Boundaries: Addressing DOD’s Organizational Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region"

For her project, CPT McDonald investigated the topic of organizational theory through two case studies on Google’s Open Handset Alliance and the World War II Allied Forces at Omaha Beach. Her research included assessments on how corporate and military organizations function, how they respond to change, and how their decision-making processes foster creativity or hinder it – noting that within the strategic competition environment, creativity is necessary in figuring out how to combat China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region. Motivated by her tactical experiences, she wanted to dig deeper into academia and become a subject matter expert (SME). She credits the NDU Scholars Program for allowing her to pursue this goal, and that it is a worthwhile and rigorous experience.

 

SGM Rodger M. Kissane
"Generational Change and Its Impact on Leadership Dimensions for Army Special Operations Forces"

Selected as one of two "Most Outstanding Scholar Papers" across the NDU Scholar submissions, SGM Kissane says the NDU Scholar program gave him the opportunity to research preferred leadership styles across generations. In the largest survey conducted among ARSOF personnel, he sought to learn the difference between the preferred leadership dimensions (hierarchical and systemic) across generations in the U.S. military, and whether this difference is significant. In one of his most noteworthy findings, he found that Generation Z identified more strongly with the hierarchical dimension than Generation Y. He believes that these generational differences should be viewed as an opportunity, not a challenge, for ARSOF leadership.

 

Congratulations to CISA-JSOMA alumni MAJ Cvetkovski, CPT McDonald, and SGM Kissane on this incredible achievement!