(Honolulu) – The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) recently welcomed three military Fellows as new members of its academic faculty. They are Col. Todd Fish, and Lt. Cols. Benjamin Hwang and Kenneth Lawrence.

Each is serving a one-year tour to expand their strategic-level knowledge of issues impacting the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region and world.

As faculty members, the three serve as seminar leaders in APCSS courses that address socio-economic, military, political and cultural aspects of national security. The officers facilitate open and productive dialogue among course participants and guide them in completing course projects. Participants are comprised of security practitioners primarily from the U.S. and Asia-Pacific region.

Fish and Lawrence are Army War College Fellows. In addition to their facilitator duties, each will craft two papers on strategic topics, one of which will be a civilian research document designed for journal publication.

Fish has been with the Army since 1984. He obtained an officer’s commission in 1992 after graduating at South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science in Technical Geography. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Central Michigan University.   Among his multiple Army command and staff positions are deployments to the Balkans, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. His latest assignment was as Deputy Commander of the 43rd Sustainment Brigade at Fort Carson, Colo.

Lawrence earned an Army commission upon his 1993 graduation from Florida A&M, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences. He followed with Master of Science degrees in Administration from Central Michigan University and Telecommunications from George Mason University. Among his many assignments, Lawrence has served as Chief, Operations Division, Defense Information Systems Agency Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and Director of Regional Cyber Center Pacific, 4th Signal Center, Fort Shafter, HI.

Though an Army officer, Hwang is representing U.S. Special Operations Command as its first APCSS Fellow. The officer earned his commission in 1995 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he earned a Bachelor of Science in International Relations. He gained a Master of Science in Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School.  The officer ‘s assignments include serving a an operations officer at Special Operations Command – Pacific, Camp Smith, HI; and as a Special Forces company commander with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

The APCSS is a Department of Defense institute that addresses regional and global security issues. Military and civilian representatives, most from the United States and Asia-Pacific nations, participate in a comprehensive program of executive education, professional exchanges and outreach events, both in Hawaii and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The Center supports the U.S. Pacific Command by developing and sustaining relationships among security practitioners and national security establishments throughout the region. APCSS’ mission is to build capacities and communities of interest by educating, connecting and empowering security practitioners to advance Asia-Pacific security. It is one of the Department of Defense’s five regional security studies centers.