2023 Gulf Coast Violent Crime and Terrorism Trends Seminar

Tom O’Connor, Special Agent (ret.), entered on duty with the FBI in 1997.  SA O’Connor was assigned to work in the Washington Field Office on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and during this time SA O’Connor has worked both International and Domestic Terrorism cases.  Prior to entering on duty with the FBI, SA O’Connor was a Police Officer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where he worked for 15 years as a Municipal Officer leaving for the FBI at the rank of Detective Sergeant.  As a Police Officer, SA O’Connor specialized in narcotics and violent gang investigations.

SA O’Connor served as the program coordinator for investigations involving criminal activity/violence conducted by racially motivated and antigovernment violent extremists in the Washington Field office area of responsibility. These investigations include neo-Nazi and other hate-based groups as well as lone actors.  SA O’Connor was Case Agent for both the Pentagon lone offender shooting and the Family Research Council lone offender shooting.  SA O’Connor was a Team Leader on the Washington Field Office, Evidence Response Team (WFO ERT).  In this capacity, SA O’Connor has led forensic teams to multiple terrorist attacks around the globe.  These deployments include the 1998 Nairobi Embassy bombing, two deployments to Kosovo in 1999 for war crimes investigations, the 2000 USS Cole attack in Aden Yemen.  SA O’Connor served an evidence team coordinator at the 9-11 attack on the US Pentagon,  responded to the 2006 attack on the US Consulate in Karachi Pakistan, and deployed six times to Iraq and three times to Afghanistan.  SA O’Connor processed evidence at both the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting and the Virginia Beach government building shooting. SA O’Connor specialized in Post-Blast Investigation and shooting reconstruction evidence recovery.

In 2005 SA O’Connor was assigned to investigate hostage takings in Iraq Theater of operations. During this deployment, SA O’Connor was involved in the rescue of US Citizen Roy Hallums who had been held by extremists for 311 days.

SA O’Connor has provided instruction on Domestic and International Terrorism issues across the United States and overseas.  In 2004, SA O’Connor was awarded the Department of Justice “Instructor of the Year” award and was named as an FBI “Master Police Instructor” in 2010 and is a certified Adjunct Faculty member for the FBI Academy.

SA O’Connor is a 2011 graduate of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Program on Terrorism and Security Studies (PTSS) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany where he continues to instruct as an Adjunct Faculty member.

SA O’Connor served as a member of the FBI Agents Associations (FBIAA) National Executive Board for three years, as the Vice President for seven years and President for 3 years, retiring from the FBI on September 11, 2019.  This date was chosen to honor the FBI Agents who had passed due to the 9-11 attack and the illnesses related to that terrorist attack.

Greg Allen Stube was born in Long Beach, CA in 1969. The son of a career Navy man, Greg Stube enlisted to serve in the US Army in 1988 as an infantryman. Greg was later selected to be part of an elite team of Green Berets in 1992, and trained as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, 18D. Greg’s training was extensive and included:

• Training in surgery, anesthesia, trauma management, pharmacology, minor dentistry, veterinary subjects and more. These skills were used to help his “A-Team” function where there is no doctor.
• Skills training as a Dive Medical Technician at the Special Forces Underwater Operations Facility in Key West, FL
• Greg is also SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) qualified, and as a career parachutist, Greg earned the qualification of Jumpmaster earning the Master Parachutist Badge award.
• Russian defense language training.

During his years of service, Greg participated in the initial development of the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat training doctrine and the 10th SFG(A) SFAUC course, where his weapons capabilities and shooting abilities remained at the core of Special Forces proficiency and competency throughout a career on the teams. Greg spent the 1990s, with the Special Forces, stationed in hostile fire zones.

While serving in Combat Operations in the Global War on Terror, Stube was wounded in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa. Stube’s A-Team encountered overwhelming numbers of Taliban fighters in The Battle of Sperwan Ghar, which lasted over a week. Stube’s wounds from a remotely detonated IED and enemy fire seemed fatal, but instead he survived to endure months of hospitalization and surgeries. Huge wounds to his abdomen, hip and pelvis eventually closed, his nearly severed leg was restored, and extensive full-thickness burns were grafted. On the path to a “miracle” recovery, Greg endured 17 surgeries and an 18 month hospital stay. Greg retired in 2011 after 23 years of dedicated service.

After returning home, Greg went on to host his own television show on NBC Sports titled Coming Home with Greg Stube. Because of Greg’s inspiring story of strength and perseverance, and his heartfelt communication style, he’s become a sought after speaker where he often leaves people thinking how they’re going to achieve their highest possible goals in both their professional and private lives. Greg has take this same inspiring message and authored a book titled Conquer Anything, available in bookstores May 1, 2018. Greg is also a consultant and serves as a leadership presenter for the FBI and the FBI National Academy, in DC and Quantico. During his free time, Greg volunteers for various charity work.

Ralph Cilento, Lt. NYPD Detective Training Bureau (ret.), is a strategic law enforcement leader with a record of accomplishment in transformational change and a proven background developing law enforcement professionals to meet contemporary and emerging law enforcement and security challenges. He is mission driven with a valuable blend of leadership, creativity, and tenacity to drive concepts into programs with measurable results. Ralph Cilento is a skilled communicator with extensive experience delivering training programs and speaking in domestic and international forums on a wide range of law enforcement topics.