A Senior Professional with over 25 years of distinguished US Government service, Dr. Lani Kass is the Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Within the Office of the Chairman (OCJCS), she is responsible for timely, relevant, independent assessments and decision-quality inputs that support the development and implementation of strategies, programs, and plans. In cooperation with the Joint Staff Directors and other senior leaders, she participates in complex, high priority initiatives focused on diverse global issues of critical importance to the Joint Staff, the Department of Defense, and the US Government as whole.
Prior to her November 2008 appointment as the Chairman’s Senior Policy Advisor, Dr. Kass served as the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force and Director of the CSAF’s Cyber Task Force. During her two years’ service on the Air Staff, Dr. Kass was responsible for formulating and communicating the Service’s vision, goals, strategies, plans, and programs. She led the development of the Airman Creed, the CSAF’s White Paper, the Irregular Warfare Concept, and other seminal documents articulating the Service’s vision of its heritage and future horizons to a variety of domestic and international audiences. She developed the intellectual concepts and organizational constructs that led to the establishment of the Cyber Command, as well as a new focus on counter-IED and Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) programs, and innovative approaches to education and training. Dr. Kass was competitively promoted to flag-rank and awarded The Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service by the Secretary of the US Air Force.
Before joining the Air Staff in January 2006, Dr. Kass served since June 1985 as Professor of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College (NWC), National Defense University. The first woman to ever serve in that capacity, she was also the Director of the foundational Core Course "Military Thought and the Essence of War," as well as the Director, Studies of Warning, Surprise and Deception. During her 20 years career at the Nation’s premier institution of professional military education, Dr. Kass--herself a 1986 NWC graduate--dedicated two of her sabbaticals (1992-93 and 2000-01) to service on the Joint Staff, providing insight and expertise to the CJCS and other senior leaders on a wide array of emerging security issues.
Dr. Kass authored two books and over 20 scholarly articles. In the wake of September 11, 2001, she participated in the development of the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and led a variety of Counter-terrorism, Defense Transformation, and Homeland Security initiatives.
Born in Krakow, Poland, the only daughter of now-deceased Holocaust survivors, she graduated with a BA in Political Science and Russian Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1971. She earned a Joint PhD from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs and the Hebrew University’s School of Economics and Political Science in 1976. In October 1981, she resigned her commission as Major in the IDF and returned to the US with her husband, Norman D. Kass---a decorated Vietnam veteran--and their 3 sons. Their oldest son followed his father’s US Army service with his own three consecutive tours as an Armored Cavalry Company Commander.
A naturalized US citizen, Dr. Kass has served the Department of Defense for 25 years. She received numerous awards, commendations and medals, to include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Meritorious Service Award, and the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal.