Bill Edwards

Bill Edwards is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with more than 35 years of experience in operational and technical security, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, surveillance and counter-surveillance, and emergency preparedness across government and private‑sector environments. During his military career, Bill served as Director of Intelligence for Theater Special Operations Command–North (USSOCOM), a role requiring close coordination across the U.S. Department of Defense, federal law enforcement, and interagency partners. In this capacity, he designed and implemented a cohesive counterterrorism information‑sharing architecture—known as the “Blue Network”—integrating domestic and international partners to support U.S. homeland security and defense missions. Bill deployed multiple times to Iraq, operating and commanding large bases in Al Anbar, Dhi Qar, and Basra Provinces, where he was responsible for operations, force protection, and infrastructure security. His work included the planning, design, and execution of layered security systems to counter evolving threats in complex operational environments. After retiring from military service in 2018, Bill founded Phoenix 6 Consulting, a customized security services firm focused on risk-informed security design, emerging threat mitigation, and operational resilience. He currently serves as a Director of C-UAS Operations and Training at ENSCO. He previously served as Principal, leading Thornton Tomasetti’s Security Consulting Group from 2018 to 2022. More recently, Bill served as President, Federal and Public Safety for Building Intelligence, where he led federal engagement and market adoption of trusted access management software. An accomplished author and educator, Bill co-authored Inside Abu Ghraib: Memoirs of Two U.S. Military Intelligence Officers, which examines leadership under extreme adversity and the impact of deployments on military families. He has published more than 124 articles on security-related topics, with a particular focus on the evolution of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) and their implications for public safety and societal security. He teaches leadership, strategic communications, and negotiations to senior Air Force officers at the Air Force War College and instructs students at The Citadel, Columbia Southern, and Towson Universities on the operational and security impacts of drone technology. Bill is widely recognized as a transformational leader with a proven ability to build and motivate teams, align diverse stakeholders, and deliver results in high-risk, high-consequence environments. His private‑sector experience spans critical infrastructure, professional sports, transportation, commercial real estate, healthcare, cultural and religious institutions, and city, county, state, and federal government projects. Bill holds ASIS International board certifications as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), Certified Counter UAS Security Professional (CCUSP), and Professional Certified Investigator (PCI). He is a FEMA Level I Continuity Planner, a licensed FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot, and the developer of sUAS training courses currently offered through ENSCO.