Wesley Winkler is a program manager and expert in irregular warfare, specializing in cognitive security, strategic communications, and information warfare, as well as research and development (R&D). He has served with various SOCOM teams and joint task forces across the INDO-PACIFIC theater, including Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Guam. In these roles, he led multiple advise and assist missions, trained partner forces in information warfare, psychological operations, and unconventional warfare, planned long-term influence and engagement campaigns to counter PRC and Russian influence, and developed new technology solutions for AFSOC and USASOC Information Warfare units at the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate.

Wesley supported AIT Taiwan in monitoring and responding to emerging PRC disinformation narratives during the 2024 presidential elections, wrote policy proposals that streamlined PSYOP execution approvals at SOCPAC, and developed a standardized pre-mission training protocol for the 5th PSYOP Battalion. He has collaborated with multiple Silicon Valley start-ups, University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), and Special Operations Commands as a cognitive security and information warfare SME.

• Special Operations Veteran

• Expert in information warfare, cognitive security, and human behavioral architecture.

• Extensive experience in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Chinese militarization and information warfare.

• Demonstrated success in managing complex operations and developing cohesive influence programs with interagency stakeholders.

• Research and Development of novel technologies for OSD-SOLIC.

• Information Warfare Experience – 7 years (as of: May 2024)

• Irregular Warfare Experience – 7 years (as of: May 2024)

• Inform and Influence Technology Research and Development – 4 years (as of May 2024)

• In-country experience in South East Asia and East Asia – 4 Years (as of: May 2024)