LL.M., George Washington University, 2007
M.A., Louisiana Tech University, 2007
J.D., University of Iowa, 1996
B.A., Iowa State University, 1994
Originally from a small town in north-central Iowa, Professor Bengs joined the NSU faculty as an assistant professor of criminal justice for the 2016 fall semester. His LL.M. is in international law, and his M.A. and B.A. degrees are in history. He retired from the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps as a lieutenant colonel in July 2016. Before attending Iowa State University, he spent two years in the U.S. Navy assigned to the now-decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.
Courses Taught
CJUS 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice
POLS 210 State & Local Government
POLS/CJUS 207 Introduction to Homeland Security
POLS 320 Public Administration
CJUS 401 Law & Society
POLS/CJUS 403 Counterterrorism & Cybersecurity
CJUS 431 Criminal Law
CJUS 433 Criminal Procedure
POLS 454 International Law and Organizations
POLS 455 International Human Rights
Teaching Experience
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) School, Oberammergau, Germany, 2012-2015
International Institute of Humanitarian Law, San Remo, Italy, 2008
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2007-2010
Professional Experience
Chief of General Law – Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 2015-2016
Deputy Staff Judge Advocate – U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 2010-2012
Deputy Legal Advisor – Combined Air & Space Operations Center, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 2010
Chief of Adverse Actions – Eighth Air Force, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 2004-2006
Staff Judge Advocate – 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, Ali al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, 2004
Chief of Contracts Law – 35th Fighter Wing, Misawa Air Base, Japan, 2002-2004
Criminal Defense Counsel – Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, 2000-2002
Chief of Military Justice – 90th Missile Wing, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, 1997-2000
Publications
2010
Right Bombs, Right Target: Law of Armed Conflict Instruction for United States Air Force Officer Candidates, 5 J. APPL. SECURITY RES. 397
2008
Legal Constraints Upon the Use of a Tactical Nuclear Weapon Against the Natanz Nuclear Facility in Iran, 40 GEO. WASH. INT’L L. REV. 323
http://docs.law.gwu.edu/stdg/gwilr/PDFs/40-2/40-2-1-Bengs.pdf
1997
Dead on Arrival? A Comparison of the Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects and U.S. Property Law, 6 TRANSNAT’L L. & CONTEMP. PROBS. 503 (1997)
Other Education
Public International Law Summer Courses, The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, Netherlands, 2014
Personal Interests
A fan of muscle cars, Mr. Bengs enjoys driving and working on his 1967 Plymouth Barracuda and 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8. He is married to Jennifer Bengs, the academic advisor for the NSU School of Business. They reside in Aberdeen with their children and a pair of German Shepherd dogs.
Favorite Quotes
Service
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
-- Muhammad Ali
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
-- Albert Einstein
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
-- Theodore Roosevelt
Character
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
-- Abraham Lincoln
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
-- Abraham Lincoln
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
-- Bruce Lee
Leadership
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
-- Theodore Roosevelt
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
-- John F. Kennedy
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.
-- Harry S. Truman
Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
-- Stephen R. Covey
