COGNITIVE WARFARE & NARRATIVE INTELLIGENCE

2025 Summit Agenda

0750-0820 Shuttle from Inn at Ole Miss to Johnson Commons Ballroom

0820-0840 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Johnson Commons Ballroom

0840-0850 Welcome Remarks 

Dr. John Higginbotham, Univ. of Mississippi

0850-0910 NCNI Mission & Summit Purpose

Dan Brookes, NCNI Executive Director

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
Introduction by Joe Stradinger, NCNI Board

0940-1055 Strategic Rivalry & Cognitive Warfare 

Strategic Conversation

Moderator: Dan Brookes, NCNI ED

MG Laurence Ferguson, 1st Special Forces Command

LTG(R) Charles Cleveland, NCNI Board

Q&A

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

Presentation

Peyton Day, University of Mississippi, EdgeTheory Lab

Q&A

1130-1220 Lunch

1220-1330 AI & Cognitive Warfare Capability Development 

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Doowan Lee, EdgeTheory

William Usher, SCSP

McDaniel Wicker, Babel Street 

Jay Dryer, Strategic Capabilities Office

Sam Gray, Strategic Capabilities Office 

Q&A

1330-1400 Coffee Break

1400-1515 Cognitive Warfare as Joint Warfighting: Policy & Doctrine

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Dan Brookes, NCNI ED

COL John Wilcox, SOCOM

COL Ryan Agee, SOCPAC 

Dave Pitts, Cipher Brief’s Gray Zone Group

Q&A 

1520-1620 Chinese Cognitive Warfare against US Innovation

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Joe Stradinger, NCNI

Peter Harter, Injustice Pool

Suzanne Harrison, Percipience IP 

Dr. Alex Philip, MITRE

Q&A

1625-1715 DEBRIEF, NEXT STEPS, AND CLOSING

Group Discussion
Meeting Highlights, Takeaways, Next Steps

Moderator: Dan Brookes, NCNI Executive Director

LTG(R) Charles Cleveland, NCNI 

MG Laurence Ferguson, 1st Special Forces Command

Joe Stradinger, NCNI

1715 SUMMIT ADJOURNS 

1715-1740 Shuttle from Johnson Common Ballroom to EdgeTheory 

1745-1830 Cognitive Warfare Tech Demo

EdgeTheory Lab