Peace Through Strength Institute – First 90 Days Founder’s Update
In just 90 days, we’ve moved from concept to influence, delivering legislative wins, shaping national opinion, and building the architecture for co-production between the U.S. and Ukraine. I’m pleased to share with you this first Founder’s Update, highlighting what we’ve accomplished together and where we’re headed next.
Bill Cole, Founder & CEO & Alik Kasman, Chief Strategy Officer
Date: August 26, 2025
Dear PTSI Donor,
Thank you for your support of the Peace Through Strength Institute. In just 90 days, we’ve moved from concept to influence, delivering legislative wins, shaping national opinion, and building the architecture for co-production
between the U.S. and Ukraine. I’m pleased to share with you this first Founder’s Update, highlighting what we’ve accomplished together and where we’re headed next.
Our Founding Thesis
The Peace Through Strength Institute (PTSI) was founded in April 2025 with a clear mission: bring battlefield ground truth from foreign conflicts to Washington, combine it with American opinion and values, and guide U.S. decision-makers to act in ways that both secure the conflict zone and strengthen America’s own national security.
Our first campaign is Ukraine. From day one, we’ve been laser-focused on understanding Ukraine’s battlefield needs, especially in the rapidly evolving drone war, then ensuring that Congress, the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Defense are aligned with those needs in ways that serve U.S. interests.
The Three-Pillar Plan
Our first tactical achievement was the creation of the Three-Pillar Plan, a framework for any foreign conflict:
- Strategic Partnership – Long-term alliances that build shared capabilities.
- Arm Them to the Teeth – Deliver decisive capabilities to win.
- Economic Leverage (Sanctions) – Cut off adversary funding streams.
This plan, shaped in collaboration with Senator Lindsey Graham and Pastor Mark Burns, both of whom have spent significant time in Ukraine, was delivered to key congressional leaders and the White House. Pastor Burns personally communicated the plan to the White House, influencing President Trump’s conversation with President Zelensky at the Pope’s funeral in Italy.
National Poll – Shaping the Conversation
In early June 2025, we commissioned a bipartisan nationwide poll of American voters. The results were clear:
- Two-thirds of Americans support increasing U.S. military aid to Ukraine to defend against Russia.
- 82% oppose any country taking territory by force, including Russia’s seizure of Crimea.
These findings have been widely cited in our advocacy. Congressman Don Bacon quoted the poll during a House Armed Services Committee hearing with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in June, and again in a CNN interview on August 13, 2025.
Legislative Wins
We co-authored Directive Report Language (DRL) for the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act with Congressmen Mike Turner, Jennifer Kiggans, and Don Bacon. This language passed committee markup in July and is now part of the NDAA headed to the House floor in September. The DRL:
- Directs the DoD to assess U.S. military drone capabilities.
- Requires a detailed analysis of Ukraine’s battlefield drone capabilities to identify lessons for accelerating U.S. readiness.
Current Priority: Extending & Targeting USAI Funds
We are working with congressional allies to:
- Extend the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) beyond its current expiration.
- Ensure approximately $11 billion in remaining funds are allocated to the true center of the war—drones and counter-drone systems, which now represent 85% of front-line activity.
- Structure the investment as a co-production model with Ukrainian manufacturers, ensuring U.S. companies benefit directly from technology, data, and licensing—looping all capability gains back to American industry and defense.
On-the-Ground Intelligence
Our team has deep, embedded relationships inside Ukraine—within military command structures, operational units, brigades, battalions, and the country’s leading defense manufacturers. These trusted connections allow us to constantly gather real-time ground truth on the war’s demands.
We track what is needed for both attack and defense, from specific drone types to quantities, costs, and how Ukrainian systems compared to U.S. capabilities. Most of our relationships are in-country, but we also work closely with knowledgeable contacts outside Ukraine who have intimate, first-hand insight. We are continually analyzing this data to refine our understanding and guide policy recommendations in Washington.
Next Steps
- Secure Senate Leadership for the USAI extension and co-production amendment.
- Formalize U.S. Manufacturer Commitments to the co-production model.
- Deliver the Strategic Drone Directive to all key committees.
- Expand the Board & Advisory Council with top voices in defense, policy, and media.
- Q4 2025 Ukraine Trip – Conduct in-person meetings with Ukrainian commanders, drone brigades, and manufacturers to gather updated battlefield intelligence and reinforce our ground truth narrative.
- Begin Work on Taiwan – Our next project will gather battlefield-prep intelligence to deter Chinese aggression, applying the Three-Pillar Plan to another high-priority U.S. security challenge.
Closing & Call to Action
In just 90 days, we’ve moved from concept to influence—delivering legislative wins, shaping national opinion, and building the architecture for co-production between the U.S. and Ukraine. These efforts protect Ukraine today, secure America tomorrow, and create a repeatable model for future conflicts. We could not do this without you. Your support, both direct and indirect, makes this work possible. Please consider sharing this update with friends, family, and colleagues who would value the importance of this mission. Every new supporter expands our ability to deliver results where they matter most.
Bill Cole
Founder & CEO
Peace Through Strength Institute
Alik Kasman
Chief Strategy Officer
Peace Through Strength Institute