Rick joins us as a US Army trained Russian-Eurasian expert to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one year after.  

 Rick is a former Army Colonel and served at US Embassy Moscow from 2000-2007 leading counterterror, counter-proliferation, and threat reduction cooperation efforts with  Russian Ministries, including the Ministry of Defense.  He was a Harvard University National Security Fellow in 2003, and served in Germany 1996-1999 assigned as an Arms Control Inspector.  He led on-site and international inspection teams throughout Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union, monitoring treaties and agreements like the Dayton Accords in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Conventional Forces in Europe, Intermediate Nuclear Forces, and Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions.  Rick, a senior paratrooper and jumpmaster, was assigned in his basic branch, Military Police, to Fort Bragg (Airborne), NC, Fort Drum (Light Infantry), NY and Fort Hood (Armor), Tx before his overseas assignments.  

He spent six months in 1994, in Georgia, monitoring and reporting progress and ceasefire violations for the United Nations during Georgian-Abkhaz-Russian civil war. 

 In 1998, just prior to the NATO air campaign to expel Serbian forces from Kosovo, Rick was assigned to the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as part of the multinational Kosovo Diplomatic Observers' Mission (KDOM).  

He has work, travel and living experience in over 50 countries including 6yrs in Germany, 6 in Russia and ~3 in Iraq.  Rick is a fluent Russian-speaker with varying degrees of aptitude in Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Czech, Arabic, German, Spanish and Serbian.  Active Duty hostile fire zones include Grenada, Georgia, Former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and Iraq and Afghanistan after he retired.  

He has supported DoD missions and initiatives for over 40 years.