faculty
(USA, Retired, San Francisco State University)
Expertise:
Leader development, strategic planning, organizational transformation, talent management, international and interagency relations
Experience:
Bennet began his United States Army career enlisting as a private in 1981 and retired 35 years later as a Lieutenant General. He completed his career in July 2016, as the Director for Strategic Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center where he wrote and assessed National Security Strategies and provided policy recommendations on behalf of the White House and National Security Council.
Bennet was a career Special Forces Officer with extensive experience in analyzing and providing innovative solutions to complex strategic problems. He has been involved at the highest levels of government in the development, implementation, and assessment of national counterterrorism and countering violent extremism strategies, has led multiple interagency planning efforts resulting in Presidential Directives and Executive Orders, and directed the talent management and development efforts of the entire Special Operations community creating the most comprehensive advanced education and training programs in their history.
Bennet has commanded at every level from detachment through division, to include Commanding the Army’smost elite fighting force, 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force), and the JFK Special Warfare Center and School, the Army’sSpecial Operations Center of Excellence. Bennet served as the first Deputy Director for Defense at the CentralIntelligence Agency’s Counter Terrorism Center and created the Directorate of Force Management & Development at Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command where he managed a multi-million- dollar comprehensive health and wellness program and directed the talent development efforts of approximately 66,000 U.S. Special Operations Forces.
He has conducted operations in more than 35 countries spanning 4 continents and worked directly with US Ambassadors and their country teams, senior foreign military and government representatives in each country. He also participated in combat operations in El Salvador, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Education:
M.S., Administration, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
Strategic Public-Sector Negotiations Certificate Program, Harvard University
Graduate Studies Program, Central Intelligence Agency
U.S. Army Senior Leader Course, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
U.S. Army War College Fellowship, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC
U.S. Army Command & Staff General College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
B.A., Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Organizations:
CEO, Cape Fear Global Solutions, LLC
Highly Qualified Expert (Senior Mentor), U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force War Colleges
Special Forces Charitable Trust, Advisory Board and Executive Committee
Personal:
Bennet and Joyce are happily married and live in Fayetteville, North Carolina just outside of Fort Bragg.
