PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Colonel Winkler supports U.S. and international clients in U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and national security projects, with focuses on advanced technology and weapons, aviation, and warfighting projects.

Prior to joining The SPECTRUM Group, Colonel Winkler served as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and staff lead for the SASC Airland Subcommittee. In these roles, he led legislative oversight of all Air Force and Army programs and of all space activities including U.S. Space Force and Space Command, Department of Defense (DoD) manned and unmanned aviation, electromagnetic spectrum operations, warfighting networks, and DoD hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons development. Colonel Winkler also previously served as Director and Senior Principal of Strategy and Advanced Technology for the Harris Corporation (now L3Harris Technologies), where he led efforts to gain market share in DoD innovation efforts including Service Labs, DARPA, SCO, and DIUX.

Colonel Winkler served a 27-year career in the U.S. Air Force, culminating in serving as the Director, Weapons Systems Division for the Office of Legislative Liaison in the Pentagon. He previously served as Commander of the Fighter and Air Control Operations Group in Spangdahlem, Germany. Colonel Winkler also previously served as Special Assistant to the Director of DARPA, and as Commander and Operations Officer of the F-16 fighter squadron in Aviano, Italy.

In addition to his work at The SPECTRUM Group, Colonel Winkler serves as the Vice President for Corporate Development and National Security Programs at Kratos Defense and Security Solutions. He is also a lecturer on Congress and the national security enterprise at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University and a Non-Resident Fellow at The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.