Speakers

COL Pete Atkinson is the Space Division Chief with the G-3/5/7 Strategic Operations Directorate at the Headquarters, Department of the Army. Commissioned an Infantry Officer, COL Atkinson began his active-duty career serving with the 10th Mountain Division. Upon completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course, he served with 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Special Operations Command - Central, and the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Upon completion of the U.S. Army Space Operations Qualification Course, COL Atkinson served with the United States Space Command, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Military Fellow, and now assigned at the Headquarters, Department of the Army. 

COL Atkinson earned a Master of Arts in Global and International Studies from the University of Kansas  and a Bachelor of Arts in History with a Certificate in Ethnic Studies from Florida Atlantic University. He is  a Senior Service College, Joint Forces Staff College, and Command and General Staff College graduate. He  completed the Joint Special Operations University’s Faculty Development Course, Harvard Manage Mentor  Program, and is a Certified Higher Education Professional with a concentration in teaching. COL Atkinson is  a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America, Association of the United States Army,  Special Forces Association, and the Army Space Professionals Association. 

COL Atkinson’s training includes Airborne Course, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Ranger Course,  Mechanized Infantry Leaders Course, Air Assault Course, Special Forces Qualification Course, SERE-High  Risk, Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course, AM General Driving Course, Mobile Force Protection  Course, Fast Rope Master Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Level II, Military Free-Fall  Parachutist Course, Jumpmaster Course, Joint and U.S. Army Special Technical Operations Course, PDAS 

Operator Course, Space 100, Space 200, Space 300, the Space Operations Officer Qualification Course, and  the Joint Space Planners Course. His awards and decorations include Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Defense  Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC), Joint Commendation Medal, Army  Commendation Medal, Joint Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award  (2 OLC), Meritorious Unit Citation (1 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal 

(2 Bronze Stars), Iraq Campaign Medal (2 Bronze Stars), Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal (1  Bronze Star), Global War on Terror Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Military Outstanding  Volunteer Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal (1 Bronze Star), Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Expert Infantryman Badge, Military Free-Fall Parachutist Badge, Space  Badge, Air Assault Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency  (Gold), and Chilean, German, Italian, Laotian, and Singaporean Parachutist Badges

Pete Gallagher is the Senior Vice President for Technology and Solutions of the National  Security and Innovative Solutions sector for CACI International Inc, an international  provider of expertise and technology serving enterprise and mission defense, intelligence,  and federal civilian government customers.  

Major General (Retired) Gallagher joined CACI in July 2021. He now serves as the principal  advisor to the sector president and leads the integration strategy of innovative  technology solutions for national security customers. Pete has over three decades of  national security experience, including top posts with the Army, Defense Information  Services Agency (DISA), the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, and the Special Operations  community to shape technology solutions and expertise that CACI brings to market. 

Prior to joining CACI, he served as the Director of the Army Futures Command Network Cross-Functional Team (CFT).  Since joining the U.S. Army in 1986, he served in a wide range of ascending positions, including Commander of  Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO)/J6 of United States  Central Command (CENTCOM). 

He commanded troops at the Platoon, Company, Troop, Battalion, Squadron, Brigade, and Army Direct Reporting  Unit levels. His command assignments include United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) units including  Commander of the Joint Communications Unit, Battalion Commander for the 112th Signal Battalion, and Squadron  Commander of a Special Mission Unit. He also served as the Brigade Commander for Defense Information Systems  Agency (DISA) Central Field Command. 

Commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Pittsburg State University, Pete holds a bachelor’s degree in  Mathematics and a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University. Throughout  his distinguished career, he earned numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, three Defense  Superior Service Medals, four Legions of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars. He  was twice awarded the Federal Computer Week Magazine Fed 100, inducted in the Pittsburg State University ROTC  Hall of Fame, and received the Meritorious Alumni award.

James D. (JD) Hammond is Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for CACI’s  National Security and Innovative Solutions (NSIS) sector. In this role, Mr. Hammond serves  as deputy to NSIS Sector President Todd Probert, providing strategic direction and  motivation for the sector’s high-performance leadership team while fostering a success oriented and accountable environment. Mr. Hammond works closely with sector leadership  to ensure performance expectations are achieved and collaborates with the management team  to develop and implement sector-wide operational infrastructure plans for systems,  processes, and personnel to drive growth. He works across NSIS to improve quality,  efficiency, and productivity and works to reduce costs, increase profit, and improve control  measures. Mr. Hammond also represents CACI with our teams, customers, and business  partners, and works collaboratively to develop and improve systems, processes, and controls  that improve overall efficiency and ensure customer satisfaction. 

Prior to his current position, Mr. Hammond served as the Senior Vice President of NSIS’ Technology Innovation and  Labs (TIL) operating group. There he led a team providing mission-enabling capabilities to the Intelligence Community  (IC), the Department of Defense (DoD), and U.S. Government civilian agencies. His team developed technology  platforms focused on Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Spectrum Analysis, Signals Intelligence  (SIGINT), and Software-Defined Radios (SDRs). The TIL team operates labs that research next-generation cyber,  resilient communication technologies (photonics), and wireless ISR. During his leadership of TIL, he also served as the  Senior Vice President of Business Operations for NSIS, where he helped lead teams to achieve NSIS’ operational goals.  

Before joining CACI, Mr. Hammond served as Lockheed Martin Vice President of Program Management C4ISR  Systems line of business within Rotary and Mission Systems. In this capacity, he was responsible for a $700M portfolio  of C4ISR programs providing a broad range of systems, capabilities, and services for all branches of the U.S. military  and various national agencies. 

Previously, Mr. Hammond was Director of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Systems division within Lockheed  Martin’s C4ISR line of business. Within the portfolio, he led an integrated air and missile defense program and was the  Capture Executive for an international derivative of the Missile Defense Agency’s Command and Control, Battle  Management, and Communications (iC2BMC) system. He also led a Missile Defense Agency program that enables  disparate elements of the agency’s Missile Defense System to function as a complete global defense network.  

In addition, Mr. Hammond served as the Director of Airborne Surveillance & Control, where he led an unprecedented  international airborne ISR program. He also led efforts supporting U.S. Strategic Command, North American Aerospace  Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command, and Air Force Space Command elements and their evolution from legacy  systems to the new standards-based, service-oriented architectures across space, air, and missile mission areas. 

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Mr. Hammond worked in a variety of increasingly responsible positions at IBM,  Hewlett Packard, and MCI – WorldCom. 

Mr. Hammond graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science. He  received his Program Management Professional certification from the Program Management Institute in 2003.

George Jackson is VP of events at GovExec – the largest and most-influential media company in the public sector marketplace. He joined the company in 2020 to enhance the scale of their events and audience experiences. In 2021, George launched GovExec TV (streaming video content) and received the company’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, part of their first-annual Icon Awards.

George graduated from The Ohio State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in English. In 2006, he earned his master’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

George spent the first five years of his journalism career at WJHL-TV in Johnson City Tenn. – beginning as an overnight producer for the station’s 6 a.m. broadcast. He advanced to lead on-air reporter for WJHL’s 11 p.m. newscast.

As a reporter, George examined the earnings of two non-profit hospital systems, felony charges filed against a local sheriff, predatory paving companies, a health benefits backlog for local veterans, and a series of cold-case murder investigations. He received an honorable mention for Best TV Reporter in the 2011 Tennessee AP Broadcast awards and won a Best Investigative Reporting award from Media General in 2010.

George joined DC’s ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in 2012 to produce Capital Insider, which won him an Emmy award. One year later, he developed and recorded the pilot episode of Government Matters – a program about the business of government. It debuted as a weekly show on Sunday, August 4th of 2013. George led Government Matters through September of 2020, expanded its reach to a daily worldwide audience, and produced its first feature-length documentary The Dawn of Generation AI.

George is from Toledo, Ohio. He lives with his wife, twin daughters, and a pair of rescue dogs in Northern Virginia