2025 Summit Agenda

0820-0840 Registration

Johnson Commons Ballroom

0840-0850 Welcome Remarks 

John C. Higginbotham, PhD, MPH, FACE, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development (ORED), University of Mississippi

0850-0910 National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) Mission & Summit Purpose

Dan Brookes, Executive Director, NCNI

0910-0915 Welcome and Introduction of U.S. Senator Roger F. Wicker

Joe Stradinger, EdgeTheory; NCNI Advisory Board

0915-0935 Peace Through Strength: National Defense in the Age of Strategic Rivalry

U.S. Senator Roger F. Wicker
Chairman, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee

0940-1055 Strategic Rivalry & Cognitive Warfare 

Panel Discussion

Dan Brookes, Executive Director, NCNI (Moderator)

LTG(R) Charles Cleveland, NCNI Advisory Board 

MG Laurence Ferguson, 1st Special Forces Command

Q&A

1100-1130 Narrative Intelligence & Irregular Warfare in the Middle East 

Presentation

Peyton Day, Intern, EdgeTheory Lab; PhD Candidate, University of Mississippi

Q&A

1130-1220 Lunch

1220-1330 AI & Cognitive Warfare Capability Development 

Panel Discussion

Jay Dryer, US Department of Defense, Strategic Capabilities Office

Sam Gray, US Department of Defense, Strategic Capabilities Office 

Doowan Lee, EdgeTheory (Moderator)

William Usher, Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP)

McDaniel Wicker, Babel Street 

Q&A

1335-1450 Cognitive Warfare as Joint Warfighting: Policy & Doctrine

Panel Discussion

COL Ryan Agee, US Special Operations Pacific (SOCPAC)

Dan Brookes, Executive Director, NCNI (Moderator)

COL John Wilcox, US Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

Q&A 

1450-1510 Coffee Break 

1515-1615 Chinese Cognitive Warfare against US Innovation 

Panel Discussion

Suzanne Harrison, Percipience IP 

Peter Harter, Injustice Pool

Joe Stradinger, EdgeTheory; NCNI Advisory Board (Moderator)

Q&A

1620-1700 Debrief, Next Steps, and Closing

Group Discussion

Dan Brookes, NCNI Executive Director (Moderator)

LTG(R) Charles Cleveland, NCNI Advisory Board

MG Laurence Ferguson, 1st Special Forces Command

Joe Stradinger, EdgeTheory; NCNI Advisory Board

1710-1800 Cognitive Warfare Tech Demo

Joe Stradinger, EdgeTheory

McDaniel Wicker, Babel Street

1800 Summit Adjourns