COL Bennett is an accomplished Army Infectious Disease physician with extensive expertise in clinical trial design and execution, particularly in the development of vaccines and the study of infectious disease epidemiology. His career began at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), where he managed the International Reference Center for Malaria Serology and later led the U.S. military's clinical trials of an early P. vivax vaccine candidate. After serving as a battalion surgeon with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, he returned to WRAIR as Director of Clinical Development for the U.S. Military Malaria Vaccine Program, guiding the clinical development of multiple candidate vaccines. COL Bennett also served as PI for critical epidemiologic studies on S. aureus colonization and infection among Army trainees, culminating in the first-ever S. aureus vaccine trial in this population. Currently, as Director of the Multidrug-resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network (MRSN), he leads the Department of Defense's efforts in characterizing and surveilling MDROs across the Military Health System, directly impacting infection prevention and control, antibiotic stewardship and improving clinical outcomes for service members and their families.