Presented with the French Air Force Citizen Reserve, with special thanks to Colonel Frederic Vigneron.

moderated by Austin Long
Assistant Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Member, SIWPS.

Bios:

Brigadier General Jean-Luc Friedling has served as Head of the Military Mission and Military Advisor to the French Permanent Representative to the UN since August 2011. From 2006-2008, he directed the Command and Staff College. Between 2003-2006, he served as Military attaché at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. Prior to this he attended the US National Defense University. In the course of his military career he has served as Platoon Commander in the 6th Mountain Infantry Division, Company Commander of the 13th Mountain Infantry Battalion, and Battalion Commander of the 7th Mountain Infantry Battalion. He has also served as Staff Officer for the French Army General Staff and the Joint Forces General Staff. He has also served as assistant to the French Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Organization and Finance. Through his service he has earned the Legion of Honor, National Order of Merit, National Defense Medal, and the US Legion of Merit.

Adrien Diarra is currently a Security Studies Fellow at Georgetown University’s Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) Center for Security Studies (CSS) focusing on emerging technologies and policies related to global security threats. Prior to joining Georgetown, Mr. Diarra was a project manager at Thales Group, a major international defense and transportation company, where he led several command and control systems contracts in Latin America, Europe and the United States. Notably, Mr. Diarra was the program office manager for the French Navy/NATO maritime situational awareness C4I system. Most recently, Mr. Diarra managed one of New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) new modernization projects – full automation of the subway system. From 2002-2007, he served as an Airborne Troops Officer in Mali within the “33e regiment des Commandos Parachutists”, also known as the “red berets”. This regiment was influential in attempting to counter the military coup of March 2012 in Mali. Mr. Diarra serves as a board member of the Association of French Veteran Liaison Officers and Military Interpreters in the United States. He received his Masters of sciences from the Saint-Cyr (French) Military Academy and a Masters in Program Management from the Inseec Business School.