Colonel Larsen is Director of The Institute for Homeland Security and National Security Advisor at the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC. He is the former Chairman of the Department of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College. Colonel Larsen began his studies of homeland security in 1994 while on a one-year fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Since 9/11, he has been a frequent expert witness for the U.S. Congress testifying before various committees. He was one of the first witnesses to testify before the 9/11 Commission and he served on the 2003 Defense Science Board Summer Study on Homeland Security. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His recent publications include: Our Own Worst Enemy: Why Our Misguided Reactions to 9/11 Might be America’s Greatest Threat (September 2005), Avoiding the Abyss: Progress, Shortfalls, and the Way Ahead in Combating the WMD Threat (July 2005), What Corporate America Needs to Know About Bioterrorism (July 2003), and The Executive’s Desk Book on Corporate Risks and Response for Homeland Security (March 2003). In September 2007, Warner Books will release Our Own Worst Enemy: Asking the Right Questions about Security To Protect You, Your Family and America. He is the co-host of public radio’s Homeland Security: Inside and Out, a weekly one-hour show aired on WAMU 88.5 in Washington, DC. He is a frequent homeland security and terrorism commentator on CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, and cable news channels. His op-eds have been published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and USA Today. Colonel Larsen received a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Asian Studies from the Naval Post Graduate School in 1983. He is also a graduate of the Defense Intelligence College and completed a one-year fellowship in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI Program. Colonel Larsen served for 32 years in both the Army and Air Force. His flying career began as a 19 year old Cobra pilot in the 101st Airborne Division. He flew 400 combat missions in Vietnam. He also served as military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, the chief of legislative affairs at the U.S. Transportation Command, and was the commander of America's fleet of VIP aircraft at Andrews AFB MD. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, 17 awards of the Air Medal (3 with "V" Device for Valor), and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. | 
