Dr. Michael VanPutte is a strategist, technologist, and author who explores the future of conflict through the intersection of military science and imagination. He served twenty-four years in the U.S. Army, beginning as an infantryman and completing Airborne and Ranger School before commanding combat engineers in combat during Operation Desert Storm. After nearly a decade as a combat engineer officer, he transitioned to cyber operations, serving as Director of the Army AI Center and teaching strategy and technology at the U.S. Army War College, where he helped shape the next generation of senior military leaders. He then served as Deputy Director of Operations for the predecessor to U.S. Cyber Command and as a Program Manager at DARPA, leading advanced research and development initiatives.After retiring from the Army, Dr. VanPutte consulted for the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, and later co-founded Provatek LLC, a defense company specializing in advanced cyber operations. He has taught strategy at the U.S. Army War College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and computer security at The Ohio State University. He continues to write, lecture, and advise on strategy, technology, and national security, drawing on his experience across kinetic and cyber domains.