Dr. Liam Collins is the executive director of the Madison Policy Forum, a senior fellow with New America, and a permanent member with the Council on Foreign Relations. Colonel (retired) Collins served in the US Army for 27 years. As a career Special Forces officer, he conducted multiple operational and combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, South America, and the Horn of Africa. In Iraq, Liam conducted operations in Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi, and many other cities. Liam retired from the military in 2019 as the founding director of the Modern War Institute and the director of the Department of Military Instruction at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace) from the United States Military Academy, and a Master's in Public Affairs and a PhD from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.