Speaker Series: MG (ret) Robert Scales, Strategic Importance of Tactical Dominance
2016-10-19 12:50 - 13:45 (America/New_York) | Washington Hall 5300
MG (ret) Robert Scales – MWI Speaker Series with MWI Adjunct Scholar and FOX News Channel (FNC) military analyst on the strategic importance of tactical dominance.

Speaker Series: Masha Gessen
2016-10-21 12:50 - 13:45
Masha Gessen – MWI Speaker Series event on US-Russian Relations Cosponsored with SOSH & English

MWI Battlefield Assessment on Sri Lanka
2016-11-10 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr. Lionel Beehner & Dr. Cronin-Furman – MWI Battlefield Assessment on Sri Lanka

MWI War Studies Conference: “Reassessing Deterrence in the 21st Century”
2016-11-13 - 2016-11-15 | Jefferson Hall
WAR STUDIES CONFERENCE
Reassessing Deterrence in the 21st Century
November 13-15, 2016
Conference Agenda
Tomorrow’s potential adversaries require a new approach for American strategic deterrence. Fifty years after Thomas Schelling penned Arms and Influence, globalization, modernization, interconnectedness and the pervasiveness of non-state adversaries have fundamentally changed our capability as well as our credibility to deter. The Modern War Institute (MWI) will convene a distinguished group of academics, practitioners, business leaders and policymakers to discuss these changes and explore their implications for U.S. national security strategy. The conference will emphasize greater joint, interagency, and multinational integration and readiness of the U.S. military and policymaking communities to meet current and upcoming threats and challenges. Topics under discussion include the challenge of deterring non-state enemies on the cyber battlefield; the viability of NATO and other 20th century alliances to deter; and domestic political challenges – from defense budgeting to strained civil-military relations – to deterring potential adversaries. The purpose of the conference is to gather the world’s preeminent thought leaders to discuss and debate the role of strategic deterrence in modern warfare, which will shape our first edited conference volume and help inform the West Point cadet education program.
War Studies Conference Agenda

MWI Speaker Series: Medal of Honor Recipient Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta
2017-01-10 12:50 - 13:45 | Ike Hall Auditorium
Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2010 for his actions on October 25, 2007, when his platoon was ambushed in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan.

MWI Speaker Series: Author Max Brooks
2017-01-19 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Max Brooks is the bestselling author of World War Z and The Harlem Hellfighters, a graphic novel about the 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I. He will speak about the importance of championing creativity in effective organization.

The NATO Urban Warfare Project
2017-01-25 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
NATO is currently conducting and Urbanization Conceptual Study and Experiment to examine the impact on NATO military operations of potential crisis situations in urban systems and consequences of urbanization in 2035. This panel will include the current and former directors of the project, Hungarian Air Force Lt. Col. Jozsef Bodnar and UK Royal Air Force Wing Cmdr. (Ret) Gordon Pendleton.

US–Russia Relations under the New Adminstration
2017-01-26 12:50 - 13:40 | Washington Hall 5300
Join us for a panel discussion about the future of US–Russian Relations under the Trump administration, with panelists focusing on Vladimir Putin’s worldview, the impact of US domestic politics, and Russian military actions in Ukraine. Panelists include Dr. Thom Sherlock (Social Sciences), Maj. Matthew Pratt (Behavioral Sciences and Leadership), Col. Liam Collins (Modern War Institute), and Maj. Jon Cheatwood (Social Sciences).

Storytelling from the Frontlines
2017-02-13 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5300
Join MWI for a panel discussion, featuring authors of three bestselling fiction and non-fiction books on war, about how to write for non-military audiences. Participants include:
Phil Klay, author of Redeployment
Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood
August Cole, co-author of Ghost Fleet
Moderated by Nate Finney, editor of The Strategy Bridge

The Siege of Mosul: Current US Operations in Iraq
2017-02-22 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
**This event is classified SECRET. Only US military cadets and faculty with secret clearances may attend.**
Col. Brett Sylvia, commander of 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Division, will speak to cadets about current US military operations in Iraq. Sylvia’s brigade recently returned from a nine-month deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Abstract Thinking in Modern War, with Lt. Gen. (Ret) Joe Martz
2017-02-23 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Retired Lt. Gen. Joe Martz will speak at this event about abstract thinking, how to practically apply it to military problems in complex terrain on the modern battlefield.

Alternative Tools of Diplomacy: Dennis Rodman
2017-03-03 12:50 - 13:45 | Arnold Auditorium
Between early 2013 and early 2014, former NBA all-star Dennis Rodman made several trips to North Korea, meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Rodman will speak about his experiences and what lessons might be learned about alternative tools of diplomacy in dealing with rogue states.

Gen. (Ret) Stanley McChrystal
2017-03-08 12:50 - 13:45 | Arnold Auditorium
Gen. (Ret) Stanley McChrystal served 34 years as an infantry and special forces officer. He commanded the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and USFOR-A in Afghanistan, and served as the director of the Joint Staff, and as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command.
Gen. (Ret) McChrystal is the author of Team of Teams. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University.

Negotiating Counterinsurgency: Michael Baskin
2017-03-28 12:50 - 13:45
Michael Baskin will speak about the use of negotiation and mediation in counterinsurgency, specifically discussing the experiences of fortyMarine infantry battalion commanders deployed to five Afghan districts in Helmand province, Afghanistan from 2008 to 2013.

Sandhurst Conference: Training to Win Tomorrow's Wars
2017-04-03 08:00 - 17:30 | Robinson Auditorium
How do we better train our soldiers for modern conflict? From realism in our computer simulations to ongoing resource constraints, training our junior officers is critical to our future military success in an increasingly complex world. No longer is it enough to simply train cadets how to carry out raids or ambushes. From Somalia to South Korea, the threat environment requires that our officers be versed in information operations, hybrid warfare, and technological advances like robotics and autonomous systems that are making the battlefield more complex and unpredictable. This year’s Sandhurst Conference, to be held on Monday, April 3, 2017, will address these challenges with a series of speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions. The purpose of the Sandhurst Conference is to provide an intellectual counterpart to the Sandhurst Competition, a way to test our mental agility as well our military skills. Cadets, officers, and faculty will discuss and exchange ideas on tactics and training, the role of non-lethal training techniques, and improving technologies and simulations to replicate the modern battlefield.
Monday, 3 April, 2017
0800-0835
MORNING RECEPTION
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium Rotunda
0835-0840
INTRODUCTION
COL Jonathan Neumann, Director of the Department of Military Instruction
0840-0850
WELCOMING REMARKS
BG Diana Holland, Commandant of Cadets, USCC
0850-0935
OPENING KEYNOTE
BG Jeffrey D. Broadwater, Commanding General, Fort Irwin & National Training Center
Topic: The Future of Training and Army Readiness
0935-0940
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
LTC Mike Jackson, Deputy Director, Modern War Institute
0940-0950
BREAK
0950-1045
SESSION 1 – OLD FOES DIE HARD: TRAINING FOR NEAR-PEER THREATS & HYBRID WAR
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium
Event Description: From Russia in Ukraine to China in the South China Sea, the future of warfare will involve near-peer competitors engaging in hybrid-style warfare. This panel will walk through the challenges of how to train for conventional enemies engaging in unconventional tactics as well as how to better train our proxies in modern warfare.
Key Questions
1. At the tactical level, how should cadets be training for hybrid warfare?
2. How does the US Army train its proxies against near-peer competitors?
Featured Speaker
Dr. Phillip Karber, President, Potomac Foundation
Moderator
LTC Mike Jackson, Deputy Director, Modern War Institute
1045-1055
BREAK
1055-1140
SESSION 2 – HOW TO TRAIN FOR ASYMMETRIC THREATS
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium
Event Description: Members of the Asymmetric Warfare Group will discuss the tactical challenges of preparing for and fighting transnational threats in complex terrain.
Key Questions
1. How should we prepare cadets for fighting non-state actors?
2. How do we better create realistic simulations for complex terrain?
Featured Speaker
COL Michael Loos, Commander, Asymmetric Warfare Group
Moderator
MAJ John Spencer, Strategic Planner, Modern War Institute
1200-1250
LUNCH
Cadets: Cadet Mess Hall / Faculty and Officers: West Point Club
1250-1345
BREAKOUT SESSIONS 1-5 – HOW TO TRAIN FOR ASYMMETRIC THREATS II
Event Description: Each breakout session will focus on a specific geographic combatant command and include Asymmetric Warfare Group representatives to discuss the practicability of this kind of training for asymmetric threats at the tactical level, with an emphasis on regional threat environments, customs, cultures, and other challenges.
Speakers
EUCOM – CPT Chris Scott – TH344
AFRICOM – Mr. Joe Dawson – TH342
SOUTHCOM – Mr. Jack Alvarez – TH442
PACOM – MAJ Jeremy Rockwell – TH144
CENTCOM – SFC James Hays – Robinson Auditorium
1345-1355
BREAK
1355-1450
BREAKOUT SESSION 6 – IMPROVING OUR SIMULATIONS FOR MODERN THREATS
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium
Event Description: Innovation, the novel reuse of technologies and techniques for other-than-intended-for purposes, will continue to be what separates those that succeed from those that excel. Models and simulations provide an imperfect representation of reality. Specific to military training, simulations provide the conditions within which tasks are trained to standard—the task, condition, standard paradigm that’s been a hallmark of Army training for the last three decades. Training simulations necessarily lag behind contemporary commercial technologies. In part this is because training simulations are meant to represent fielded systems and contemporary operating conditions, but also because oftentimes those technologies have to be combined with others to provide a new system. This discussion will address these and other challenges to realistically simulating the modern battlefield.
Key Questions
1. What are some innovative (economical, technological, etc.) ways to improve realistic simulations?
2. How do we assess cadet performance to prepare them for modern combat?
Featured Panelist
LTC Christopher Hartline, West Point Simulation Center
Moderator
CPT Caleb Goble, Department of Military Instruction
BREAKOUT SESSION 7 – MULTINATIONAL INTEROPERABILITY AND COALITION TRAINING AGAINST HYBRID THREATS
Thayer Hall, Room 144
Event Description: Training involves tradeoffs. Should we be focused on major conventional combat operations, as Chief of State of the Army GEN Mark Milley has directed? Or should we train more tactically and focus on, say, improving soldiers’ marksmanship? This session will examine this issue, as well as multinational interoperability and what makes platoons and companies successful in this sphere. Specifically, it will address training multinational forces in Europe to prepare them for irregular, conventional, and hybrid threats.
Key Questions
1. Do you train for major combat operations and assume soldiers will be able to pick up stability operations?
2. How should we experiment to find solutions to improve multinational interoperability?
Featured Panelists
CPT Matthew Larson, JMRC (Hohenfels, Germany)
1LT Robert Hurd, 7ATC JMRC (Hohenfels, Germany)
Moderator
LTC Mike Jackson, Deputy Director, Modern War Institute
BREAKOUT SESSION 8 – ‘COMBAT IN HELL’ REVISITED: TRAINING FOR URBAN COMBAT
Thayer Hall, Room 344
Event Description: The presence of large urban areas ranging all the way to megacities poses significant challenges to how we conduct military operations. In an increasingly urbanized world, soldiers are far more likely to find themselves fighting in dense urban terrain. This panel will discuss the challenges, considerations, and best practices for how to train for these kinds of operations.
Key Questions
1. How do we train future officers to thrive in a complex environment such as dense urban areas?
2. What are the appropriate changes we should make in doctrine, training, and technologies to address our vulnerability gaps in urban warfare?
Featured Panelist
MAJ John Spencer, Strategic Planner, Modern War Institute
BREAKOUT SESSION 9 – ‘FIGHT ANYWHERE’: TRAINING LIMITATIONS AND BUILDING ADAPTABILITY
Thayer Hall, Room 442
Event Description: Given today’s volatile operating environment it is difficult to choose one type of terrain or one enemy we are likely to fight. So how do you train when you don’t know what environment you will be operating in? This panel will discuss the requirement for adaptability and how to train so that soldiers can adjust quickly and effectively to any new situation whether they have trained for it or not.
Key Questions
1. What makes adaptability paramount for future leaders?
2. How can tactical leaders train their soldiers to quickly adjust for any terrain, mission, and enemy?
Featured Panelist
Dr. Mike Matthews, Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership
Moderator
CPT Jake Miraldi, Strategic Projects Officer, Modern War Institute
BREAKOUT SESSION 10 – TRAINING WITH NON-LETHAL TECHNOLOGIES
Thayer Hall, Room 342
Event Description: There is little training done on the rules, norms, and practices of non-lethal warfare at the tactical level as a way to avoid conflict escalation and use of lethal force. This affects soldiers’ ability to conduct effective patrols and secure base perimeters. This panel will discuss greater advances in non-lethal technologies, from “active denial technology” to improved “flash bang” grenades. The panel will also discuss the role of TTPs and rules of engagement on non-lethal training.
Key Questions
1. How can militaries utilize non-lethal technologies in their training?
2. How can we effectively incapacitate the enemy without causing injury or death?
Featured Panelists
MAJ John Chambers, Department of Social Sciences
MAJ Allen Griffith, US Army, Columbia University
1450-1500
BREAK
1500-1555
CLOSING PANEL: CADET DEBATE – RESOLUTION: ‘TO FIGHT TERRORISM, MILITARIES SHOULD USE ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES.’
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium
Event Description: Two members, respectively, of the United States Military Academy and Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst debate teams will debate the merits of enhanced interrogation techniques as a way to combat terrorism. Cadets in the audience will vote on the winning team.
Moderator
MAJ Kevin Krupski, Department of Social Sciences
1555-1600
CLOSING REMARKS
LTC Mike Jackson, Deputy Director, Modern War Institute
Thayer Hall, Robinson Auditorium
1600-1730
SANDHURST RECEPTION
West Point Club

Fit Enough to Fight: Lt. Gen. (Ret) Mark Hertling
2017-04-12 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Lt. Gen. (Ret) Mark Hertling served thirty-seven years in the US Army and retired after serving as the commanding general of US Army Europe and the Seventh Army. In September 2013, Hertling was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. At this MWI Speaker Series event, he will speak about the impact of physical fitness on military readiness and American national security.

NATO's Vision of Fighting in the Gray Zone: Brig. Gen. Imre Porkoláb
2017-04-24 12:50 - 13:45 | Thayer Hall 444
Brig. Gen. Imre Porkoláb, Hungarian Defense Forces, is NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation’s liaison officer to the US Department of Defense. At this MWI Speaker Series event, he will discuss NATO’s “persistent federated approach” to fighting in the “gray zone.”

Leadership in the Current Operating Environment: JSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Scott Miller
2017-04-28 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
This event will be classified SECRET//NOFORN
Lt. Gen. Scott Miller is currently the commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He has commanded at every rank from captain to lieutenant general, to include combat tours in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as support for contingency operations in Bosnia and Latin America. Prior to his arrival at JSOC, Lt. Gen. Miller was the commander of the United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Georgia.

Russia's New Generation Warfare: Brig. Gen. Peter L. Jones
2017-05-19 15:05 - 16:00 | Washington Hall 5006
In this MWI Speaker Series event, Brig. Gen. Peter L. Jones will discuss Russia’s “New Generation Warfare” doctrine, its impact on the operating environment, and what it means for the US Army training to fight and win tomorrow’s wars. Brig. Gen. Jones is currently the commandant of the Infantry School at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Ft. Benning, GA.

Capturing Saddam: Former Interrogator Eric Maddox
2017-08-24 12:50 - 13:45 | Ike Hall Auditorium
Eric Maddox, known for his direct role in the capture of Saddam Hussein, is the featured guest in this MWI Speaker Series event. In 2003, Maddox interrogated the detainee who provided the information that led to the capture of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in hiding for months since the US-led invasion. He will discuss the search for Saddam, his role in it, and lessons on persistence and leadership.

War Council — Fire and Fury? How to Deal with the North Korean Challenge
2017-08-25 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
With renewed and heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea in the wake of recent ballistic missile tests, participants in this MWI War Council panel will discuss the risks associated with the crisis, along with opportunities to reduce tensions. Panel participants: COL Bryan Gibby, History; Dr. Scott Silverstone, SOSH; LTC Chris Jacobs, Law; MAJ Nathaniel Davis, DSS.

US Response to Challenges to the Western Order: Military Innovation and Power Projection – Dr. Stephen Rosen
2017-09-18 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Dr. Stephen Rosen is the Beton Michael Kaneb Professor of National Security and Military Affairs at Harvard University. He was previously the civilian assistant to the Director, Net Assessments in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Director of Political-Military Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council, and a professor in the Strategic Department at the Naval War College.

Intelligence Analysis in the Age of the Algorithm: Dr. Nicholas Krohley
2017-09-21 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
As we enter deeper into the age of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, technological advances are transforming the way we analyze security threats. But rather than replace the need for human analytical capabilities, Dr. Nicholas Krohley argues that these new technologies demand greater focus on human expertise to overcome the limitations of purely quantitative analysis

Facing the Zombies of Military Procurement – Max Brooks
2017-10-06 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Max Brooks is the New York Times bestselling author of The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, and The Harlem Hellfighters. An entertaining and thought-provoking speaker, he uses fiction to examine the real-world challenges the military faces.

The 2008 Russia-Georgia War: An MWI Contemporary Battlefield Assessment
2017-10-10 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
During the summer of 2017, a group of USMA cadets and faculty traveled to the Republic of Georgia to study that country’s 2008 war with Russia. Over nearly two weeks, the group interviewed military and political officials, spoke to participants in the conflict, and traveled to the boundary with the Georgian territory that remains occupied by Russian troops. Findings from the research trip—including lessons from the conflict on topics including cyber operations, hybrid warfare, and more—will be shared during this MWI event.

"Legion of Brothers" – Film Screening and Panel Discussion
2017-10-13 19:00 - 21:30 | Arnold Auditorium
Legion of Brothers is a 2017 documentary that tells the story of two Special Forces detachments that were among the first US forces sent to Afghanistan after 9/11. ODA 595, commanded by Mark Nutsch fought alongside the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in the country’s north, while ODA 574, commanded by Jason Amerine, fought its way toward Kandahar in the south, accompanied by future Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Amerine and Nutsch, along with his wife, Amy Nutsch.

The North Korea Problem – Dr. Victor Cha
2017-10-17 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
In this MWI Speaker Series event, Dr. Victor Cha will discuss the security challenges the United States and its regional allies face on the Korean peninsula. Dr. Cha is director of Asian Studies and holds the D.S. Song Chair in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 2009, he was named as Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. He served three years as the Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, responsible primarily for Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific island nation affairs.

Is War with China Inevitable? – Dr. Graham Allison
2017-11-02 12:50 - 13:45 | Robinson Auditorium
Dr. Graham Allison is the author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? and is the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. In this MWI Speaker Series event he will address a critical question: As China’s rise challenges the United States in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, can the two countries avoid a war that neither wants?

Who are the American Foreign Fighters Combating ISIS? – Dr. Joseph Young and Dr. Ben Connable
2017-11-09 12:50 - 13:45 | Washington Hall 5006
Why do some people go abroad to engage in other people’s wars? Some studies attempt to discern why individuals choose to fight in distant lands or seek to count how many do so. The term “foreign fighter” has been used nearly exclusively in recent research to describe transnational fighters who join with Islamist organizations, or more generally for individuals fighting with resistance groups against a state. However, little research has been done on the many transnational fighters who travel to fight against resistance groups or against Islamist organizations. In this event, Dr. Joseph Young, an associate professor at American University’s School of International Service, and Dr. Ben Connable, a senior political scientist at RAND, will discuss the transnational fighters who battle against the Islamic State, focusing on Americans who engage in such activities.
