Cortez A. Cooper III
Director, East Asia Studies
Mr. Cortez A. Cooper III joined Hicks and Associates, Inc. in August 2005, and serves as the Director for East Asia Studies in the Strategic Assessment Center. Since joining Hicks, Mr. Cooper has focused on providing comprehensive analysis of the evolving Asia-Pacific geo-strategic environment. He supplies policy, intelligence, and operational community clients with strategic forecasts of security challenges across the political, military, economic, cultural, and informational landscape.
Prior to joining Hicks and Associates, Mr. Cooper served in the U.S. Navy Executive Service as the Senior Analyst for the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific, U.S. Pacific Command. He was the senior intelligence analyst and Asia regional specialist in the Pacific Theater, advising PACOM leadership on trends and developments in the Command’s area of responsibility. He also served as China Issue Manager for the Command, integrating PACOM priorities into national and international collection and analysis programs and initiatives. Mr. Cooper was responsible for the accuracy and coherency of daily intelligence reports to the Commander, and for advising the Director for Intelligence on recommended Command positions on National Intelligence Estimates and other assessments impinging on national security policy.
Before his Hawaii assignment, Mr. Cooper was a Senior Analyst with CENTRA Technology, Inc., specializing in Asia-Pacific political-military affairs. He managed a number of projects for agencies in the national security arena, providing both detailed research inputs and finished intelligence products.
Mr. Cooper’s 20 years of military service included assignments as both an Army Signal Corps Officer and a China Foreign Affairs Officer. He served as a policy advisor and Team Chief in the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, where he represented the Department of Defense at several rounds of talks with officials from China, North and South Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He also served as a Branch Chief for the China Division at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he provided senior policy makers with comprehensive studies on Chinese military modernization and numerous papers in support of U.S. delegations to Beijing. He was commended by the Director of Central Intelligence for a briefing to then-Secretary of Defense Cohen prior to his trip to China. Mr. Cooper’s Army assignments also included tours with the 8th, 9th, and 25th Infantry Divisions.
In addition to numerous military decorations, the Secretary of Defense awarded Mr. Cooper with the Exceptional Civilian Service Award in 2001.
Mr. Cooper has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Davidson College, and a Master of Arts degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. He attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, the Defense Language Institute, and the U.K. Ministry of Defence Chinese Language School.