Erik Herr

Leadership.

Erik Herr

Chief of Operations

Mr. Erik Herr serves as the Chief of Operations at the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC). In this executive capacity, he leads a cross-functional team of doctoral scholars, irregular warfare subject matter experts, and analysts dedicated to global education, training, and engagements. Leveraging over 34 years of operational and strategic leadership garnered across both military service and corporate America, Mr. Herr orchestrates the center’s daily execution to expand irregular warfare knowledge across the Department of Defense, the Interagency, and allied partner nations. His comprehensive background in change management, security cooperation, and non-kinetic conflict provides him with a unique foundation for enhancing global defense postures and addressing emerging gray zone challenges.

Prior to his appointment as Chief of Operations in 2022, Herr built an extensive career as an operational change leader within the civilian corporate sector following his military retirement in 2016. He entered private industry managing high-volume logistics and operational workflows for Amazon, where he specialized in process optimization and cross-functional team leadership. He subsequently bridged his executive operations background into the healthcare industry, serving as a Regional Director of Operations. In this capacity, he directed regional program sustainability, strategic resource alignment, and enterprise-wide initiatives to support diverse organizational stakeholders.

Mr. Herr’s foundational expertise in national security is rooted in a distinguished 25-year military career as a U.S. Army Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer. He entered public service in 1991, enlisting as an electronic warfare systems repairer within the 82nd Airborne Division before serving in forward-deployed units across Stuttgart and Heidelberg, Germany. He deployed to Taszar, Hungary, in 1995 in support of Operation Joint Endeavor before completing the Special Forces Qualification Course and joining the 7th Special Forces Group. Throughout his tenure as a Green Beret, Mr. Herr executed multiple Joint Combined Exchange Training missions across the SOUTHCOM area of operations and deployed five times in support of the Global War on Terrorism, including four combat tours to Afghanistan and one to Iraq between 2006 and 2011. His operational roles spanned positions as an Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) Weapons and Intelligence Sergeant, Assistant Detachment Commander, Detachment Commander, and Company Operations Warrant Officer. He culminated his military service at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, managing the execution of Robin Sage, the military’s premier Unconventional Warfare Training Exercise.

An accomplished practitioner well-versed in integrating innovative training into international military, interagency, and law enforcement requirements, Mr. Herr specializes in developing whole-of-government resilience and resistance capabilities. A highly credentialed federal executive, he holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Webster University and completed advanced graduate studies in Business Administration at Capella University. He earned his foundational academic credentials with a Bachelor’s degree in History from Campbell University.