Modern War Institute

Defeating ISIS in Mosul — Col. Pat Work
2018-01-24 12:50 - 13:45 (America/New_York) | Washington Hall 5006
Col. James “Pat” Work is the commander of Falcon Brigade, 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division. Col. Work and his brigade, by advising and assisting the Iraqi Army, spearheaded the clearing of Mosul against an extremely capable and dug-in adversary. In August 2017, the Falcons and the Iraqi Army successfully defeated ISIS in Mosul, crippling the terrorist group’s operations in Iraq.

President Trump’s "America First" National Security Strategy — Dr. Nadia Schadlow
2018-02-02 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr. Nadia Schadlow is Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Strategy on the National Security Council. Most recently, Dr. Schadlow assisted in writing President Trump’s National Security Strategy. In February 2017, Nadia published her most recent book War and the Art of Governance: Consolidating Combat Success into Political Victory. Before joining the National Security Council, she was a senior program officer at the Smith Richardson Foundation, where she identified strategic issues that warrant further attention from the US policy community and managed and developed programs and projects related to these issues. Her articles have appeared in Parameters, The American Interest, The Wall Street Journal, Philanthropy, and several edited volumes.

A Free and Open Indo-Pacific Region: Japan's Grand Strategy
2018-02-05 12:50 - 13:45 | Bartlett Hall 454
Join the International Affairs Forum and Modern War Institute for a guest lecture with Mr. Nobukatsu Kanehara.
Mr. Nobukatsu Kanehara entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1981, upon graduation from the University of Tokyo. Since 2012, Mr. Kanehara has served as Deputy Director of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, Director-General of the International Legal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat. In 2014, Mr. Kanehara became the inaugural Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Secretariat.
Mr. Kanehara is the author of Senryaku Gaiko Genron: A Grand Strategy of Japan for the 21st Century (2011), and has taught at the Faculty of Law and the Graduate School of Law, Waseda University.

Why We Never Think Alone: Explaining "the Knowledge Illusion’"
2018-02-12 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Dr. Steven Sloman of Brown University and Philip Fernbach discuss how the key to our intelligence and knowledge actually lies in our surroundings and the community we interact with. This is critical for military thinking and learning at the tactical level, given that young officers’ knowledge and expertise are coming not from within us but from their immediate surroundings.

My Development as an Infantry Leader — Capt. Shaye Haver
2018-02-22 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Capt. Shaye Lynne Haver was one of the two first women to graduate from the US Army’s Ranger School in August 2015. Capt. Haver graduated from the United States Military Academy in May 2012 and commissioned as an aviation officer. In May 2016, she began the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course at Fort Benning, Georgia and was selected as a voluntary transfer into the infantry. She is currently serving in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division awaiting an infantry rifle company command.

Lost in Translation: How the Military Can Communicate Better — Alan Alda
2018-02-27 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Alan Alda, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce on the long-running television show M*A*S*H, discusses how military leaders can communicate in a way that people will actually understand. Military officers are often placed in situations where their ability to communicate can be a matter of life and death. Alan has dedicated himself to the science of communications and describes much of his work in this new book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?

The Army's Role in Innovation — Dr. Rosa Brooks
2018-03-27 12:50 - 13:45 | Bartlett Hall 454
From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Rosa Brooks served as Counselor to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy. During her time at the Defense Department, Brooks also founded the Office for Rule of Law and International Humanitarian Policy, and also led a major overhaul of the Defense Department’s strategic communication and information operations efforts. Her mose recent book, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, was published in 2016. She is also the author, with Jane Stromseth and David Wippman, of Can Might Make Rights? Building the Rule of Law after Military Interventions.

The Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture Series: Gen. Raymond "Tony" Thomas, Commander of US Special Operations Command
2018-03-29 12:50 - 13:45
The Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture Series honors the intellectual and strategic legacy of Gen. Albert Wedemeyer (USMA ’19), one of America’s most significant and under-recognized military strategists, by bringing to West Point subject matter experts on the role of the individual leader in complex operations. These experts will give lectures and lead round table discussions for cadets, staff, and faculty in performance psychology, in-extremis leadership, and strategic engagement.
This event features Gen. Raymond “Tony” Thomas, commander of US Special Operations Command. Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, Gen. Thomas served as commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, N.C. Gen. Thomas’s other assignments as a general officer include: associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency; commanding general, NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan; deputy commanding general, JSOC; deputy director for special operations, the Joint Staff in the Pentagon; assistant division commander, 1st Armored Division in Iraq; and assistant commanding general, JSOC.
Prior to being promoted to brigadier general, Gen. Thomas also served as the JSOC chief of staff and director of operations. His other formative and key, joint, and special operations assignments include: commander, Joint Task Force – Bravo, Soto Cano, Honduras; commander, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Savannah, Ga.; and commander, B Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, Fort Bragg, N.C.
He is a graduate of the US Army War College, Carlisle, Penn., and the Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I.
Gen. Thomas is a native of Philadelphia, Pa. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant upon graduation in 1980.

The Challenges in the Pacific Region — Gen. Robert Brown
2018-04-05 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Gen. Robert Brown assumed command of United States Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) on April 30, 2016. Gen. Brown will discuss ongoing US Army efforts in the USARPAC area of responsibility, challenges we face in the region’s complex operating environments, and his views on how state and nonstate actors are impacting the region. Prior to assuming command of USARPAC, Gen. Brown served as the commanding general of the US Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. During his service, Gen. Brown has served twelve years with units focused on the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, including as commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, deputy commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, training and exercise director J7 of US Pacific Command, executive assistant to the US Pacific Command commander, plans officer at USARPAC, and commander of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

Women in Security — Brig. Gen. Jennifer Buckner, Brig. Gen. Michelle Schmidt, Dr. Michele Malvesti, and Ms. Jen Easterly
2018-04-06 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Join the Modern War Institute for a panel discussion with four senior leaders with proven excellence in leading organizations and managing complex global problems.

Brig. Gen. Jennifer Buckner, USMA ’90, currently leads Joint Task Force ARES at US Cyber Command. She commanded the Army’s first cyber brigade and served as the first chief of the Army’s cyber branch at the US Army Cyber Center of Excellence.
Brig. Gen. Michelle A. Schmidt, USMA ’92, currently serves as the director of intelligence for the United States Special Operations Command. She has served in a number of positions including company commander, squadron commander, G-2 for the 82​nd​ Airborne Division, and intelligence brigade commander of Joint Special Operations Command.
Dr. Michele L. Malvesti currently serves as professor of practice in international security studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She also serves on numerous boards, including on the director’s advisory board for the National Counterterrorism Center. Dr. Malvesti worked on the National Security Council staff for over five years as the senior director for combating terrorism strategy.
Ms. Jen Easterly currently serves as a managing director at Morgan Stanley and the head of the firm’s cybersecurity fusion center. Previously, she served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Jen is a distinguished graduate of USMA and retired from the US Army after over twenty years of service in intelligence and cyber operations.

Ukraine: Assessing the Current Operating Environment — Dr. Phil Karber
2018-04-09 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr. Phil Karber will discuss current Russian operations, the Kremlin’s ultimate objectives, and implications for the United States of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Dr. Karber’s observations are based on over twenty-five trips to the region, including over 177 days spent with Ukrainian forces on the front lines. In 2012, Dr. Karber was appointed as the president of the Potomac Foundation after serving as a senior fellow in the foundation since 1988. He is a former Marine and earned his BA in political science from Pepperdine College and his PhD in international law from Georgetown University. Dr. Karber is an internationally recognized authority on defense and national security matters having prepared studies and recommendations for the highest levels of the US government.

MWI Speaker Series: Mr. Dave Eubank — The Free Burma Rangers
2018-04-12 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a humanitarian service movement for oppressed ethnic minorities of all races and religions in the Burma, Kurdistan, and Sudan war zones. The FBR was founded in 1997 by Mr. Dave Eubank, a former Special Forces and Ranger officer. As of recently, members of the FBR have provided relief to the people of Iraq as their homes were ravaged by war during the counter-ISIS campaign.

MWI Speaker Series: Dr. Charles Morgan — “The Scientific Revolution on the Battlefield”
2018-04-17 12:50 - 13:45 | Bartlett Hall 454
Over the course of twenty years at Yale University and the Neurobiological Studies Unit of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dr. Morgan’s neurobiological and forensic research has established him as an international expert in post-traumatic stress disorder, eyewitness memory, and human performance under conditions of high stress. Dr. Morgan is a subject matter expert in the selection and assessment of US military special operations and special mission units. His work has provided insight into the psycho-neurobiology of resilience in elite soldiers and has contributed to the training mission of Army special programs. Dr. Morgan is on the cutting edge of battlefield innovations and assessments.

MWI Speaker Series: Gen. (ret) Bob Kehler — Deterrence, Nuclear Risks, and Strategy to Deal with North Korea
2018-04-23 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Retired Gen. C. Robert Kehler is a thirty-nine-year veteran of the United States Air Force, having culminated his career as the commander of US Strategic Command, where he provided the president and secretary of defense with a broad range of strategic capabilities and options for the joint warfighter through several diverse mission areas, including combating weapons of mass destruction, integrated missile defense, ISR, and global strike. Gen. Kehler will discuss his thoughts on what the best strategy for dealing with North Korea is and how deterrence, strategic stability, and nuclear risks all play a major role.

Military Innovation in War: It Takes a Learning Organization — Dr. Richard H. Shultz, Jr.
2018-04-25 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr. Richard H. Shultz, Jr. is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School, Tufts University and the Director of the Fletcher School’s International Security Studies Program. At Fletcher, he teaches graduate-level courses in various aspects of international security affairs, internal/transnational conflict, war studies, and intelligence and armed groups. Professor Shultz will discuss how Task Force 714 transformed in the midst of the war in Iraq to dismantle al-Qaeda’s clandestine network despite what organizational experts identify as barriers that inhibit militaries from learning, innovating, and changing in wartime. This is critical for military thinking and learning, given that many military organizations are constantly in or preparing for war.

MWI Speaker Series: Discussing "Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women"
2018-05-01 12:50 - 13:45 | Ike Hall Auditorium
The panel will discuss the importance of mentoring within the profession of arms. Panelists will discuss the research and evidence brought forth in Dr. W. Brad Johnson and Dr. David Smith’s 2016 book Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women. Published in September 2016, the book explores evidence that demonstrates that women face more barriers in securing mentorship than men, and when they do find a mentor they may reap a narrower range of both career and psychological benefits.

MWI War Council – Debating the Space Force
2018-09-06 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5300
“The space environment has fundamentally changed in the last generation; what was once peaceful and uncontested is now crowded and adversarial.”
– Vice President Mike Pence
The Modern War Institute will host a diverse panel of staff and faculty in a riveting discussion around the future of the proposed space force. The panel will debate the pros and cons of the proposed new force based on the panelist’s expertise in the sciences, and experience working in the space arena. The discussion will focus on what the future could look like, the obstacles that will need to be overcome, and how the world will respond.
The panel will feature Lt. Col. Mindy Kimball from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Lt. Col. Diana Loucks from the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Col. Kristin Panzenhagen from the Air Force Missile Defense and Missile Warning Systems Branch, and Lt. Col. Jason Galui from the Department of Social Sciences.

MWI Speaker Series – A View from the Front Lines of our Long-Running Wars, with C.J. Chivers
2018-09-10 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5300
Join us for the first MWI Speaker Series event of the semester, featuring C.J. Chivers. A reporter for the New York Times and a former infantry officer in the US Marine Corps, Chivers is the bestselling author of The Gun. He’ll be featured at this MWI event, where he’ll discuss his newest book, The Fighters, based on the accounts of service members in Afghanistan and Iraq.

MWI Speaker Series – American Grand Strategy in an Age of Upheaval, with Dr. Hal Brands
2018-09-24 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5300
Dr. Hal Brands is Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Program on National Security, and is a Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies. He is the author or editor of several books, including American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump (2018) and Making the Unipolar Moment: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War Order (2016). He has consulted with a range of government agencies in the intelligence and national security communities.

MWI Speaker Series – The Brain: The Battlefield of the 21st Century
2018-09-26 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5300
Join us for this MWI Speaker Series event featuring Dr. James Giordano. Dr. Giordano is the chief of Georgetown University’s Neuroethics Studies Program and Scholar-in-Residence in the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, and is Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center. His research examines advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology, and what those advancements mean for the future of war.

MWI Panel Series – 25th Anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu
2018-10-03 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5006
Col. (ret) Larry Perino, Col. (ret) Lee VanArsdale, and Master Sgt. (ret) Kyle Lamb, all participants in Operation Gothic Serpent, will recount the events that took place twenty-five years ago during the Battle of Mogadishu. The battle was popularized by the blockbuster hit Blackhawk Down. The panel will discuss the events of the battle and how the leadership principles outlined in Kyle Lamb’s book, Leadership in the Shadows, apply to today’s battlefields.

MWI Speaker Series – Capt. Brett Reichert and Capt. Mark Zwirgzdas: “The Battle for Mosul”
2018-11-15 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5006
Capt. Brett Reichert and Capt. Mark Zwirgzdas served as company commanders in 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division during the 2017 battle for Mosul, Iraq. They will discuss their experiences as commanders in an advise-and-assist mission during one of the biggest battles in the fight against ISIS, one that cost the militant group the capital of its so-called caliphate. Their talk will follow on an earlier MWI Speaker Series event with Colonel Pat Work, the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division’s commander, who shared his experiences with cadets and faculty in the spring of 2018.

MWI War Council – Counterterrorism in the Philippines
2018-11-19 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5300
MWI War Councils are interdisciplinary panels on current events in the global security environment. Each War Council focuses on a topic of interest in the news and analyze the impact on the Army and the world. In this War Council, participants will discuss counterterrorism in the Philippines, where security forces have been engaged in intense fighting against an affiliate of the Islamic State, including the devastating urban battle in the city of Marawi.

MWI Speaker Series – Ambassador Michael McFaul: “From Cold War to Hot Peace”
2018-12-06 12:35 - 13:50 | Robinson Auditorium
Ambassador Michael McFaul is an American academic and professor of political science at Stanford University, who served as the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. Prior to his nomination, Ambassador McFaul worked for the US National Security Council as special assistant to the president and senior director of Russian and Eurasian affairs.

MWI Speaker Series – Dr. Mara Karlin: "Building Militaries in Fragile States"
2019-01-15 12:35 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr.Karlin is a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is Associate Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she also serves as acting director of the school’s Strategic Studies Program and as executive director of The Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. Dr. Karlin has served in national security roles for five US secretaries of defense, advising on policies spanning strategic planning, defense budgeting, future wars and the evolving security environment, and regional affairs involving the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

MWI Speaker Series – Dr. Ziya Meral: "How Violence Shapes Religion"
2019-01-28 12:35 - 13:50 | Washington Hall 5326
Dr. Ziya Meral is a British and Turkish researcher. He specializes in politics and foreign policies of Turkey and the Middle East, thematic issues surrounding interaction of religion with global affairs, and British defense and security. He is a Senior Resident Fellow at the UK Army’s new Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research—a civilian and military think tank providing independent analysis and research on defense and security based at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is also the Director of the Centre on Religion and Global Affairs, based in London and Beirut.

MWI War Council – The Path Forward in Syria
2019-02-13 00:35 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
The decision to pull US forces out of Syria has reinvigorated debate over the wider US role in the region, and how Syria fits into our larger strategy to combat terrorism, contain Iran, and build democracy. In this MWI War Council, participants will discuss the past, present, and future of the US approach to Syria and its many related challenges.
The panel will feature Capt. Darren Hagan from the Combating Terrorism Center, Lt. Col. Nathaniel Davis from the Defense and Strategic Studies program, Dr. David Frey from the Department of History, and Lt. Col. Tom Oakley from the Department of Law.
