LTC Travis Trammell
"Shaping Policy: Student Team Tackles Foreign Malign Influence"
Sponsor Perspective
LTC Travis Trammell
Overview
Foreign malign influence (FMI) on free and fair elections poses a threat to U.S. democracy, and the student team at William & Mary was up for the challenge. Through Hacking for Defense® (H4D), a nationwide university program that leverages the brightest students to address national security problems, students are taught how to apply entrepreneurial methodologies to understand and offer pathways for addressing a specific government problem.
Each team is given a different problem and every problem has a government problem sponsor. Problem sponsors are members of the Department of Defense or Intelligence Community who possess the relevant technical or professional expertise to mentor their students. They act as both the client and liaison, owning the problem the students are trying to solve and facilitating their investigation into its root causes.
Sponsor Biography:
LTC Travis Trammell is a highly accomplished U.S. Army Officer with a remarkable academic background and extensive operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt. Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy in 2003, LTC Trammell went on to earn both an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management at MIT in 2012. In 2020, he completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University, where his research focused on foreign influence campaigns and effective countermeasures. LTC Trammell's military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device. Moreover, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and a Professional Engineer recognized by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE). Currently serving with distinction at U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the National Security Agency (NSA), LTC Travis Trammell brings a unique blend of academic expertise, operational knowledge, and leadership to his critical role.
Sponsor Perspective:
Could you talk us through the problem you submitted?
The problem evolved over time during the course. Originally, the team was looking at ways the joint NSA/USCYBERCOM Election Security Group could identify future technological challenges associated with election interference and election influence. However, the problem changed as the team learned more about the challenge and the updated problem became how we could best inform the public of the threat of foreign malign influence (FMI), influence related to elections. How does the government best inform the public about the threat from foreign malign influence?
This problem is of great importance to my official duty as a part of the Election Security Group, as an American citizen, and as a proponent of democracy and free and fair elections.
What did the students present at the end of the semester?
The team developed a policy recommendation for the criteria of an alerting system for malign influence, which I thought was a great recommendation. Giving the students a very challenging problem such as this one, you leverage outside expertise and fresh ideas on the path to solving the problem. The knowledge that was uncovered through the process was challenging to our assumptions in some ways, but reaffirming in others.
How did their finding impact the organization?
As a career U.S. Army Officer, I am well aware of the benefits that my background and experience bring to the way I examine problems. However, I also recognize the inherent limitations that are similarly informed by my experience. I am impacted by cognitive bias and it is important to recognize that. So to have an outside perspective, a diversity of experience, and a team with different backgrounds to approach this problem is highly valuable. I benefit from those innovative perspectives as a sponsor, and so does our organization.
Why should other potential government sponsors get involved in the H4D program?
It was exciting to interact with the student team. I had the privilege of teaching at West Point and I relate being a sponsor to the feeling that I get from teaching. I feel such positive feedback from watching the students learn and develop, and building relationships with members of the team. In fact, one of the team members is continuing to pursue individual research in the foreign malign influence space and I have been happy to provide feedback on that effort.
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