Brian Chesko

Lt Col Brian Chesko is a National Security Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. An Air National Guard officer with 20 years of experience, he brings operational expertise from combat flying, Pentagon strategic planning, and squadron command leadership to national security policy research. 

A Cincinnati native, Lt Col Chesko commissioned through Air Force ROTC in 2003 after earning his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University. He later earned an M.S. in Engineering from Purdue in 2012 while serving on active duty and recently graduated from the National Defense University’s Joint and Combined Warfighting School.

As an AC-130 and RC-26 Combat Systems Operator since 2004, Lt Col Chesko started his military career flying 240 combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan in the AC-130U gunship, providing close air support to special operations forces during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. In 2016, he transferred to the Air National Guard and flew RC-26 domestic support missions at the local, state and federal levels enabling wildfire response, counter-drug operations and national border protection.

From 2019-2023, Lt Col Chesko served in Washington, D.C. managing defense budgeting and shaping future force design. At the National Guard Bureau, he managed a $2.7B portfolio of over 600 fighter aircraft and 27K Guardsmen across 45 Air National Guard bases. Transitioning to Air Force Futures at Headquarters Air Force, he integrated DoD strategic guidance and future joint warfighting concepts through analysis and wargaming while managing advanced programs that shaped FY21-FY23 force design priorities.

Prior to his fellowship, Lt Col Chesko commanded the 147th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron in Houston, TX, leading over 100 personnel and managing $180M in MQ-9 aircraft. He pioneered European MQ-9 agility during Czech Republic's 2024 NATO exercise, leveraging satellite capabilities to disperse unique MQ-9 operations across two airfields – one military, one civilian. When Storm Boris devastated Central Europe, he led his team's seamless transition to Czech flood relief operations, strengthening international relationships through the National Guard State Partnership Program.