Maxie McFarland Maxie L . McFarland ( also known as Maxie MacFarland ) , was one of thirteen tier - 3 US Government Defense Senior Executives , serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence ( G – 2 ) for the U . S . Army ’ s Training and Doctrine Command located at Fort Monroe , VA . Since June 2011 , he has worked as the Executive Vice President for Strategic Planning for the Sierra Nevada Corporation . Civilian career . As the TRADOC G - 2 , McFarland served as the Army ’ s lead for analyzing the characteristics of future military operations and describing the conditions and threats they might contain . This effort supports the development of concepts , education of leaders , design of new capabilities , training or military units and enables experimentation . In coordination with Joint Forces Command , other governmental agencies and services , and the private and academic sectors , TRADOC G - 2 develops the operational environment ( OE ) , which is the Army ’ s authoritative perspective of the future . As a function of his work on the Operational Environment , McFarland often took unconventional avenues in order to replicate the complexity and uncertainty of the operational environment that his staff defines . He sponsored a variety of initiatives for the Army and Joint forces , including : the Army Opposing Force Program , the Army Starfish Program , Red Teaming capability , the Army Culture and Foreign Language Strategy , Human Terrain System Foreign Military and Cultural Studies , and the Joint Training Counter - Improvised Explosive Device Operations Integration Center ( JTCOIC ) . Collectively , these programs provide support to deployed forces , coalition partners , the Army ’ s Combat Training Centers , Army educational institutions and schools , as well as various capability development and integration centers . From December 2005 to May 2007 , McFarland was assigned by the Army Chief of Staff to support the establishment and expansion of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization ( JIEDDO ) . He served as a special advisor to the Director and as the Deputy Director for Concepts , Strategy and Intelligence . In this capacity , McFarland was responsible for initiating JIEDDO ’ s Counter - Improvised Explosive Device Operational Integration Center ( COIC ) , establishing the law enforcement support program , and overseeing the development of Intelligence , Surveillance , and Reconnaissance capabilities to counter improvised explosive device threats as well as numerous other initiatives . Education . McFarland earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1973 , a Master of Education Degree in Psychology and Counseling from Southern Arkansas University in 1985 , and a Master of Arts Degree in Strategy and Policy from the Naval War College in 1995 . In addition he has completed the following military training programs : Signal Officers Basic Course , Infantry Officers Advance Course , Counter - Intelligence Officers Course , Command and General Staff college , Electronic Warfare / Signals Intelligence Course . Military career . Following his college graduation , McFarland joined the Army in 1973 and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps . In 1975 he branch transferred to the infantry and served as an Infantry Officer until his branch transfer to Military Intelligence in 1985 . Throughout his active duty career , he served in a wide variety of operational and intelligence - related command and staff billets , both stateside and overseas . He has twice served as a battalion commander and completed four tours as a G2 at the Division through Army level . He retired from active duty as a Colonel after serving for more than 25 years and shortly thereafter was selected for the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service in July 2002 . Conferences . McFarland participated in specialized conferences , including : Publications . McFarland has authored several works , including : Awards and honors . His personal and unit awards and decorations include the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive ( 2006 ) , the Defense Distinguished Service Medal ( 2002 ) , two Legion of Merit awards ( 1995 , 1997 ) , three Meritorious Service Medal awards ( 1992 , 1994 , 1996 ) , the Army Commendation Medal , the Army Achievement Medal , Army of Occupation Medal , National Defense Service Medal , Southwest Asia Service Medal , Kuwait Liberation Medal , NATO Medal , Army Service Ribbon , four Overseas Service Ribbon s and the Military Parachutist Badge .