Program on National Security Conference

“Mind the Gap”: Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America

A Conference Sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Reserve Officers Association

Monday, October 15, 2007

Reserve Officers Association
One Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, DC.

Conference Report

Speakers and Topics

Panel 1: The Military and Society
What is the current state of relations between the military and society? How representative is the military of civil society? What effect is the War on Terrorism having on military-societal relations?
Paper: John Allen Williams, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
Commentators:
  • Thomas E. Ricks, Military Correspondent, Washington Post
  • Elizabeth Stanley, Assistant Professor of Government, Georgetown University
Moderator: Mackubin T. Owens, Naval War College and Senior Fellow, FPRI
Audio/Video: The Military and Society
Panel 2: Interagency Process (International)
Who has the lead on the ground overseas? Is the military the supporting or supported actor? What are the implications? How can the interagency process contribute to complex operations? Should the military prepare to take on more state-building functions? What are the possible problems?
Paper: Bernard Carreau, Senior Fellow, Center for Technology and National Security, National Defense University
Commentators:
  • Nadia Schadlow, Senior Program Officer, Smith Richardson Foundation
  • A. Heather Coyne, Senior Program Officer, Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, United States Institute for Peace
Moderator: Frank Hoffman, Senior Fellow, FPRI
Audio/Video: Interagency Process (International)
Keynote Address by the Hon. Ike Skelton, Chair, House Armed Services Committee
Introduced by Col. Paul R. Groskreutz, USAF (Ret.), National President, ROA
Read The Hon. Ike Skelton on Civil-Military Relations, FPRI E-Notes, 11/2007
Audio/Video: Keynote Address by the Hon. Ike Skelton
Panel 3: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Civil-Military Relations
What impact has Operations OEF or OIF had on civil-military relations?
Paper: Frank Hoffman, Senior Fellow, FPRI
Commentators:
  • Peter Feaver, Alexander F. Hehmeyer Professor of Political Science, Duke University
  • Richard H. Kohn, Professor of History, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill
Moderator: Michael Noonan, Director, FPRI Program on National Security
Read Dereliction of Duty Redux?, FPRI E-Notes, Frank Hoffman, 11/2007
Audio/Video: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Civil-Military Relations
Panel 4: Professional Ethics and Dissent
What is the line on offering advice? How much can/should the military speak out? What are the ethical dimensions of serving both branches of government?
What is the obligation that senior officers owe to their seniors, and to their juniors? How much should officers be involved in the media?
Paper: Col. (Ret.) Don Snider, Visiting Professor, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College (on leave from the U.S. Military Academy)
Commentators:
  • Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, USMC (ret.)
  • Peter Hegseth, Vets for Freedom
Moderator: Lt. General Dennis McCarthy, USMC (Ret.), Executive Director, ROA
Read Dissent and Strategic Leadership of the Military Professions, FPRI E-Notes, Don M. Snider, 2/2008
Audio/Video: Professional Ethics and Dissent

For additional information, please e-mail fpri@fpri.org