Dave Cochran

Next Generation National Security Fellow, 2016

United States Air Force

  • Press: comms@cnas.org

Dave Cochran is an Air Force Officer and F-15E Pilot currently pursuing a graduate degree in Operational Studies from the School of Advanced Warfighting at US Marine Corps University in Quantico, VA. Prior to this assignment, he served as an Air Force Strategic Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Action Group where he provided policy analysis and recommendations to the senior military advisor to the President. He was also selected in 2014 as a Service Chiefs Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Dave is a combat veteran and instructor pilot with more than 1,400 hours in the F-15E. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School, an elite graduate-level instructor training school that teaches leadership, tactical problem solving, and whole-force integration. He has deployed twice in support of military operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Dave has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He lives in McLean, VA with his wife Katie and their three children.