Ray Wojcik has an extensive background in security and defense in Europe and particularly regarding NATO’s Eastern-Flank. Ray is a Security Cooperation expert and retired U.S. Army Colonel with 32 years of experience as a soldier, non-commissioned officer and officer working in aviation, infantry, intelligence, special operations and as a foreign area officer. His core areas of expertise are in international defense cooperation, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), policy planning and development, and defense planning and government relations. He has worked closely with allied and partner nation regional defense establishments, fostering, and facilitating defense reform to achieve U.S. policy goals to strengthen allied capabilities. During two assignments to Poland as Army Attaché and Deputy Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, he (1) coordinated the equipping and deployment of tens of thousands of Polish soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan, (2) helped deliver over $4B USD in military equipment and training, and (3) led the on-the-ground effort to continuously deploy thousands of U.S. soldiers to Poland and Central/Eastern Europe. As Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, Kosovo, Ray spearheaded transformative security cooperation programs during a period of high alert in the Balkans. He is the former Director of the Warsaw office of the Center for European Policy Analysis, where he coauthored reports on strengthening NATO’s eastern flank. Ray completed a year-long course at Poland’s National Defense University.