President's Message

2026 MORS President: LTC Jaison Desai

Now, perhaps more than ever, our world critically needs objectivity, analytic rigor, and professionalism. For over 60 years, the Military Operations Research Society (MORS) has been a beacon of these principles. MORS serves the community of national security analytic professionals through professional development, inter-organizational dialogue, and fostering connections domestically and globally. I invite you to take advantage of all this community has to offer.

Passionate Objectivity is at the core of every MORS analyst and is my theme for this year. This term recognizes the core qualities that separate our profession and reinforces our value to senior leaders. MORS analysts exhibit objectivity by using facts, data, and rigorous methodologies to generate recommendations and courses of action that are free of bias. The passion in our work comes from the deep intensity and commitment we show to this principle of objectivity.

In a world of people who are PO’ed on a seemingly daily basis, I invite you to be P.O.’ed with me this year – to be Passionately Objective and to bring our professionalism to bear in support of our toughest national and global security challenges.

Senior leaders are relying on our community more than ever as advisors and subject matter experts with a range of expertise. Beyond our core analytic capabilities, we are called on to support technical assessments, data governance, data engineering, DevSecOps, AI capability development, and more. MORS is the home for exploration, growth, and networking to sharpen your professional edge.

We must be Passionately Objective in our expertise, models, and methodologies.

  • Our 95th Symposium in June 2027 will be hosted by the US Marine Corps at Quantico, VA. This is the premier event for your professional development. This is our version of “gunnery” to hone our skills and networks, just like a tanker practices target engagement on a range.
  • MORS also has numerous special meetings in the works, including Global Critical Infrastructure, Contested Logistics, and Western Hemisphere priorities.

We must be Passionately Objective in our insights on new technologies.

  • The Wargaming Emerging Technologies Workshop in September 2026 will bring our wargaming and analytic communities together to discuss analysis of disruptive technologies.
  • Our annual Emerging Techniques Forum (ETF) in December 2026 is the place to be to share new methodologies and cutting-edge applications. Expect a big AI focus as we build on the success of our 2026 AI Workshop this past spring!

We must be Passionately Objective in our support to internal training within our organizations.

  • The democratization of advanced technologies such as Generative AI requires our profession to assist others in how to responsibly and efficiently use these technologies. Many of our events feature in-depth tutorials to build your knowledge.
  • Our Certificate and Course Programs continue to expand and offer analysts a way to deep-dive on critical skills. You can also leverage the power of MORS to run a course for your organization!

Finally, we must be Passionately Objective in our network development.

  • Our Communities of Practice allow you to interface across military, government, academic, and industry to deepen your collaborative capabilities
  • MORS also offers special Junior Analyst opportunities, our Education and Professional Development Colloquium, and a mentorship program!

Wherever you are in your career, MORS is your community and your pathway to growth. I look forward to seeing you at an event, in a community discussion, or online for our MORS Talks!

LTC Jaison Desai, Ph.D.
61st MORS President

Mr. Nick Ulmer