The folks at Defense and the National Interest (DNI) have been kind enough to offer a block of seats to members of the Small Wars Journal / Small Wars Council community of interest.  Space is very limited – so it’s first come first serve – and the price is right – free.

For those that wish to attend please contact Mr. Bob Howard at ooda.loop@gmail.com.

The 2007 Boyd Conference

Friday, 13 July 2007

The Alfred M. Gray Research Center

Marine Corps Base

Quantico, Virginia

Agenda

0800 - 0830: Welcoming and Opening Remarks.

0830 - 0930: Session 1

Boyd 102: Salient Points of Colonel John Boyd and Operating Inside the Observe, Orient, Decide and Act (OODA) Loop.

Dr. Chet Richards (Colonel USAF Ret.) and Colonel Frans Osinga (PhD, Royal Netherlands Air Force)

• What it means
• What it does to the opposition
• The type of organizational climate / culture needed to make it work
• Latest research into why it works

0930 - 1030: Session 2

Warfare since Boyd: Summary of Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW)

Colonel G. I. Wilson (USMC Ret.) and Panel

• "War on Terror"
• Iraq and Afghanistan
• Lebanon
• Can we ever operate inside their OODA loops?
• Through a glass darkly (trends & forecasts)

1045 - 1130: Session 3

War in our future?

William Lind

• Various interpretations: William Lind (crisis of legitimacy of the state), Col. TX Hammes (evolved insurgency), FM 3-24 (international insurgency)
• Can these approaches be reconciled? (e.g., FMFM 1-A)
• Other possibilities (e.g., van Creveld's "non-trinitarian warfare")
• Critiques: Is it just guerrilla warfare under another name? Is it the same as "terrorism"?
• Is it really war?

1130 - 1300: Lunch Break

1300 - 1415: Session 4

Breakout Sessions

Major Donald Vandergriff (USA Ret.): Adaptive leadership: training for adaptability and 4GW.

Colonel TX Hammes (USMC Ret.) and William Lind: 4GW and the future of warfare.

• Concepts of 4GW
• Is there a 5th Generation?
• Next steps in the "war on terror"
• Fallout from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon from the standpoint of 4GW
• Implications for the military (including intelligence) and the Department of Defense

Dr. Chet Richards and Colonel Frans Osinga: OODA Loops into the future - areas for further research on Boyd.

1430 - 1530: Session 5

Senior Leaders' Critiques (Panel TBD): What I would have done (and would do) differently

1530 - 1600 (+/-): Session 6

Final Thoughts and Wrap-up (Speakers TBD)

1700 - ????: Further debate and deliberation at a watering hole to be announced…

Speakers and Breakout Session Leaders Include:

Dr. Chet Richards, Colonel, USAF, Retired: Associate of Boyd's for roughly 20 years, and author of Certain to Win, on applying Boyd's ideas to business. He will share some of Colonel Boyd's ideas on the OODA loop that make it much more powerful than just a simple cycle.

Colonel Gary I. Wilson USMC Retired: A primary co-author of "The "Changing Face of War" in 1989 which served as the genesis of debate and discussion on 4th Generation Warfare.

Colonel Frans Osinga, Ph.D., Royal Netherlands Air Force: Author of the new study of the late Colonel John Boyd and his work Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd.

Colonel T. X. Hammes, USMC Retired: Author of The Sling and the Stone, the first full length study of 4GW.

Major Don Vandergriff, USA Retired: Author of the new book on adaptive leadership,

Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal with the Changing Face of War.

William S. Lind, author of the Maneuver Warfare Handbook, "Strategic Defense Initiative," and co-author, with Colonel Wilson, et al., of "The Changing Face of War."

We have a number of special guests who have tentatively accepted, including senior officers who were associated with Colonel Boyd.