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Defense, Foreign relations & Intelligence

America's Role in the World

Sagamore was co-founded by Dan Coats in 2004 as he was wrapping up his tenure as US Ambassador to Germany. Mr. Coats also served as Director of National Intelligence and served on the US House and Senate committees addressing matters of defense, intelligence, and foreign relations. See featured content below to learn more about his service, senior fellow Alan Dowd’s ideas about America’s role in the world, and Indiana’s contributions to national security.

As a think tank, ideas are our business. Sagamore built on this foundation by forming an expert network of fellows providing independent and innovative research and analysis to public and private sector leaders.

Center for America's Purpose

The Center for America's Purpose identifies historical guideposts to bolster national-security strategy in the 21st century, applies the lessons of history to the challenges of today and seeks to remind the American people that as civilization’s first-responder and last line of defense, the United States is a force for good in the world.
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Project Fortress

Project Fortress explores the intersection between faith, liberty, and security.
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Pathfinder

Since its founding in 2014, Dowd has led the Sagamore Institute’s Center for American Purpose to reveal the multiple dimensions of how America is a positive force in the world. Pathfinder is the Center’s newest educational resource to help light America’s path ahead.
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The Crisis in Ukraine

Senior Fellow Alan W. Dowd heads the Center for America’s Purpose (CAP) at Sagamore Institute. CAP was launched in 2014 to promote America’s leadership role in the world through published work and policy speeches. Click below to browse a Sagamore-curated list of Dowd's best work related to the crisis in Ukraine.
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Jerry Hendrix, Retired Navy Captain

Sagamore fellow Dr. Henry J. “Jerry” Hendrix, PhD is a retired Navy Captain, having served 26 years on active duty following his commissioning through the Navy ROTC program at Purdue University.
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Fellows & Partners

Alan Dowd

Senior Fellow | Center for America's Purpose

Dan Coats

Co-Founder

Jesse Carlton

Partner | Indiana Defense Network

Matt Konkler

Senior Fellow

We engage in applied research—working alongside innovative practitioners, learning from them, and measuring the impact of ideas and theories put into practice.

Indiana Defense Network (NCCO)

Indiana is playing a major role in strengthening U.S. national security, and the National Center for Complex Operations (NCCO), now the Indiana Defense Network, is a central component of this initiative. The NCCO acts as a “one-stop-shop” to connect state, federal, and private interests with services, programs, and training and testing capabilities that will serve defense industry partners and a variety of government and non-government agencies.
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