25th NCF General Membership Meeting & Annual Symposium
Guest Speakers
MAJ Spencer L. French, US Army
(U) Major Spencer Lawrence French currently serves as the Brigade (BDE) Operations Officer (S3) for the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade at Fort Meade, MD. He is the author of “Not Just Lucky: How Third Army Adapted to Generate Information Advantage, 1944,” part of the Army University Press Art of War Papers series, recently published in April 2023.
(U) MAJ French graduated from Georgetown University and commissioned as a MI Officer through Officer Candidate School in 2008. After graduating from the MI Officer Basic Course (MIBOLC) as a Van Deman Honor Graduate in 2009 MAJ French was assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team (2BCT), 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While there, he served as both a Signals Intelligence Platoon Leader and Air Assault Infantry Battalion Assistant Intelligence Officer and deployed twice (2010-2011 and 2012) to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF).
(U) Upon returning from Afghanistan MAJ French attended the MI Captain’s Career Course where he graduated first in his class. MAJ French was subsequently assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team (3BCT), 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as the Brigade Intelligence Current Operations Officer, Airborne Infantry Battalion Intelligence Officer, and Airborne Infantry Brigade Military Intelligence Company Commander. MAJ French also deployed to Iraq (2015) in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (OIR).
(U) MAJ French was selected for the Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program (JOCCP), 741st MI BN, 704th MI BDE at Fort Meade, Maryland and deployed in support of OIR in 2018 and Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT (ORS) in 2019. Upon completion of JOCCP, MAJ French attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he graduated as the General George C. Marshall Distinguished Graduate, for the Class of 2021. MAJ French subsequently served as the Chief of the Army Technical Control and Analysis Element, 742nd MI BN, 704th MI BDE from 2021-2022 and the BN Operations Officer for the 741st MI BN, 704th MI BDE From 2022-2023. He has served as the BDE’s operations officer since May 2023.
(U) MAJ French possess a Master of Military Arts and Sciences Degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, a Master of Arts in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service and a Certificate in Arab Studies from Georgetown University. MAJ French is the author of published and forthcoming works in ARMOR, ARMY Magazine, Military Review, Joint Force Quarterly and Parameters on topics including combat advising, the Iran-Iraq War, and information advantage.
(U) MAJ French’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (1 oak leaf cluster), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (1 oak leaf cluster), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award (1 oak leaf cluster), the Combat Action Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, German (Bronze), Dutch, and Italian Parachutist Wings, and the MI Corps’ Knowlton Award.
