West Point ’00. Cavalry officer under H.R. McMaster at Tal Afar, then a troop commander during the surge. Taught Russian history at West Point. Nine years in Kyiv. Co-hosts the Ukraine Military History podcast with Rob Lee.
WHO WE ARE
Founded in Kyiv, day two
The Borderlands Group was founded on 25 February 2022. We help defense companies validate their products with Ukrainian units and convert frontline demand into funded orders.
Deep working relationships across the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, NATO, defence attachés, and operating units.
THE TEAM
Who works your account
Your retainer gives you access to all of them.
Top-level access to Ukraine’s defense-industrial base and its member companies.
Direct lines into the General Staff, service branches, and the units that test and buy.
A second, independent channel into Ukraine’s manufacturers and integrators.
IN THE ROOM
WHAT THAT ACCESS HAS PRODUCED
ALL SIX RESULTS →STRIKE SYSTEMS · LOR
$50MM
US-government-funded letter of request, with a €100MM+ German follow-on in development.
ACOUSTIC SENSORS · LORS
€74MM
Submitted letters of request for an acoustic sensor company, built on frontline demand.
AIR DEFENSE · CAPITAL
$100MM+
Raised by an air-defense interceptor company on the back of frontline letters of intent.
Clients are anonymised by category. Outcomes vary by product, performance, and demand. No specific outcome is guaranteed.
BEYOND THE FIRM
The Borderlands Foundation
A non-profit working on two things: a historical centre documenting this war, and the Ukraine Center for Traumatic Stress, led by the former commander of Ukraine's moral and psychological support forces.
The U.S.–Ukraine Freedom Summit
An annual event bringing defense technology companies together with Ukrainian veterans and government officials for panels on the future of military technology and veterans' issues.
Ukraine Military History Podcast
Co-hosted with Rob Lee. History that bears on the current war, for anyone in defense technology, the military, or government policy.
THE READINESS ASSESSMENT
Every engagement starts the same way
Three calls: a product and technical review with your engineering team, a team and readiness review against the Ten Rules, and a 60-minute decision call with Samuel Cook. You get a written readiness report and a clear decision. The fee is credited in full toward the engagement.
A fixed, credited fee. Scheduling begins within one business day.