Leadership
Alex
Wagner.
Whether at the Pentagon, within the aerospace industry, or at high-growth startups, Alex has built and led teams that transform organizations operating in high-stakes environments. Brought in when conventional approaches have stalled.
Founder & Principal
PACER FORGE STRATEGIES
Affiliations
Teaching · Advisory · Board service
Our story
Why
Pacer Forge.
Pacer Forge: A 57-hour, scenario-based deployment exercise during the sixth week of U.S. AIR Force Basic Military Training
The firm takes its name from the Air Force's PACER FORGE — the make-or-break challenge at the end of basic military training that transforms citizens into Airmen and Guardians.
No scripts, no hand-holding. Small teams, degraded conditions, real consequences. It's where the Air Force tests whether you can think clearly when the plan falls apart.
We took the name because that's how we work — and increasingly, it's what clients need.
Select Experience
Restored and modernized Air Force recruiting. Reimagined the Space Force.
Chief people officer for 700,000 Airmen, Guardians, and civilians across the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. After Air Force enlisted recruiting missed targets in 2023, led the effort that eliminated outdated barriers to meet the 2024 goal — with the service hitting its 2025 target three months early. Reengineered a leadership structure built for one service to support two, protecting the Space Force's ability to innovate while driving integration.
Modernized Recruiting · Talent Innovation
Mapped the next thirty years of American aerospace and defense.
Led development and launch of "Vision 2050" — the A&D industry's first cross-cutting strategic foresight on what aerospace and defense must become by mid-century. The public report, What's Next for Aerospace and Defense, captured public attention as industry's authoritative forecast on the use cases, enablers, and implications required for continued American leadership.
70+ Industry Leaders · Public report →
Established tech-forward initiatives inside the Army
Helped create and roll-out the Army Rapid Capabilities Office, the Army Digital Service, and Hack the Army during the Obama administration — each designed to keep a 240-year-old institution tethered to modern talent and cutting edge technology.
1st MILDEP Digital Service · Largest DoD Bug Bountry
Developed the Pentagon's first policy on AI weapons
Co-authored Directive 3000.09, the Defense Department's foundational policy on autonomy in weapon systems and the framework allied nations continue to reference in international negotiations more than a decade later. Represented the United States at the inaugural UN talks on lethal autonomous weapons systems in Geneva, advocating for U.S. policy to set global ground rules for an entirely new set of capabilities.
UPDATED in 2023 · LAWS Negotiations still active at UN Geneva
Earlier: Uber Technologies · K&L Gates · OBAMA for America