The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce that Lieutenant Colonel Charles Driest, USMC (Ret.) has joined the Institute as a Research Fellow.  He will be assigned to the TECOM (Training and Education Command) at the US Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia.

"It is enjoyable to be allowed the chance to continue to serve my country with this organization and give back to the Marine Corps, an organization I hold in deep regard," says LtCol Driest. He has over 29 years of experience in Marine Corps Operations, Studies and Analysis and personnel management, including six years as an instructor on the Operational Level of War. LtCol Driest has served overseas in several high-risk posts, including Commandant of the Marine Corps Observer to the US Embassy in Nicaragua; Future Operations Officer for all Marine Forces (MARFOR) for Operation Restore Hope/ Provide Comfort in Somalia; and Executive Officer of F-Company, MSG Bn (State Department), responsible for all US embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon retirement from the Marine Corps in 1994, LtCol Driest was awarded the Legion of Merit.

LtCol Driest also has over 15 years of experience in the private sector in program management, modeling and simulation wargame design, and multinational information services.  He was formerly employed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) as the Exercise Team Leader for the Synthetic Theater of War (STOW), a DARPA project. He also held a position with MITRE as the Project Lead for Multinational Information Services (MNIS),  a  program designed to increase information sharing with Allies, Coalition Forces, and Communities of Interest (COIs).