Benjamin J. Fernandes is an Army Strategist serving as a Joint Planner on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was the President of the Army Strategist Association. Previous assignments include Chief of Plans for the National Commission on the Future of the Army; Study Manager for the Army Science Board’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Study; RAND Army Fellow; Strategic and Operational Planner at the National Counterterrorism Center; Future Operations Branch Chief for a Joint Task Force in Afghanistan; and a variety of tactical and operational jobs in the infantry and military intelligence. He earned a BS from West Point, an MBA from Auburn University, an MSSI from the National Intelligence University and a Public Policy PhD from George Mason University.