Chaveso Cook ’04, Doug Livermore ’04, and Jim Perkins ’06 were recently selected as members of the (TNSP) Truman National Security Project. They were invited by the Truman community as part of the 2017 class of the Defense Council, of which they only pick approximately 50 nationwide per year. Defense Council members, in particular, look to extend their public service beyond the battlefield and combine principled leadership with practical understanding of next generation conflicts and their consequences.
The Truman National Security Project is a nationwide community, forged in the aftermath of 9/11, fighting for America’s promise on the battlefield, along the campaign trail, and in the halls of government. Truman unites more than 1,500 veterans, frontline civilians, policy experts, and political professionals with a shared worldview: "America is strongest when we utilize all of our tools – defense, diplomacy, development, and democracy – to engage the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Through policy innovation and political advocacy at the local and national level, we bring talented leaders together to fight for that worldview."
Doug Livermore is a Special Forces officer with Special Operations Detachment - OTAN/NATO in the Maryland ARNG. He also works in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) Sensitive Special Operations Division as an operational advisor. He has multiple publications in professional journals and also contributed an entry to The Strong Gray Line: War-Time Reflections from the West Point Class of 2004. Jim Perkins is an active duty Engineer officer who works for the US Army Corps of Engineers in the DC area and is the Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF). Chaveso Cook is an active duty Psychological Operations officer at Fort Bragg, NC, and is both a former Tactical Officer and Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership instructor at West Point. Perkins and Cook also co-founded the non-profit MilitaryMentors.org.