David Firester

Currently pursuing a PhD in International Relations at the Graduate Center (GC) of the City University of New York (CUNY), David Firester combines an exemplary military record with distinguished academic accomplishments. Firester began his military career as an Intelligence Analyst with the U.S. Army Reserve. Specializing in imagery intelligence from 2002 to 2006, David Firester supervised junior enlisted personnel in the analysis of aerial and ground imagery development, assuming all responsibility for the team's welfare, health, and professional development. Additionally, he reviewed and analyzed imagery mission results, performing quality control on imagery analysis reports.

From 2006 to 2007, Firester served as Air Sensor Operator, in which capacity he participated in and supervised a variety of tactical missions related to reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition (RSTA, or RISTA), and battle damage assessment. A concurrent position as flight instructor for Task Force Observe, Detect, Identify, and Neutralize (ODIN) required Firester to actively train more than 25 newly arriving personnel, utilizing the operations manual he wrote personally.

In addition to his distinguished military service, David Firester has served in various law enforcement positions. Graduating from the police academy as class president, Firester acquired received the Certified First Responder Award for his outstanding performance during CPR/AED certification. As a Deputy Sheriff in Orange County, New York, Firester negotiated crises, provided field intelligence, and acquired various certifications in field areas such as terrorist bombing response, radiation detection, and narcotics identification.

Well-versed in Near East policy and semi-fluent in Spanish and Hebrew, Firester has traveled to Israel on several occasions, as well as Iraq and Kuwait. Presently, he seeks a position in the private sector that combines his cultural awareness with his analytic and leadership skills.