Major Christopher Mercado is infantry officer in the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where he serves as the desk officer for military engagements and exercises in Indonesia and Vietnam. Chris comes to PIPS with five combat deployments between Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel’s West Bank, and Africa. His experiences abroad have centered on security force assistance, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency. Chris is a General Wayne A. Downing Scholar of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and also served as a National Security Task Force Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Chris has a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Civic Leadership from the University of South Dakota.
