Small Wars Journal

FPRI to Host a Joint Conference with the Irregular Warfare Center

Mon, 08/19/2024 - 7:17am
       On Tuesday, September 17th and Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center for the Study of Intelligence and Nontraditional Warfare and DoD's Irregular Warfare Center will co-sponsor a conference to discuss lessons learned from America's post-9/11 irregular wars. The conference will take place at the U.S. Naval Institute's Jack C. Taylor Conference Center at 290 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD, 21402 on the U.S. Naval Academy grounds.
 
       The conference will begin at 9:00 am Tuesday with a keynote address by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Irregular Warfare and Countering Terrorism, Maren Brooks. After the keynote address, the conference will alternate between paper presentations and panel discussions on seven topics related to lessons learned from our various post-9/11 irregular warfare operations. These topics include intelligence and counterintelligence activities; human terrain operations; information operations; using police and militias in a counterinsurgency; working with foreign partner forces; medical operations; and logistics/support operations. Conference papers will cover lessons learned in regions ranging from the Sahel to the Philippines as well as Afghanistan and Iraq. Papers to be presented include titles such as Advise-Assist-Enable: A Critical Analysis of the U.S. Army's Security Force Assistance Mission during the War on Terror by Dr. John Nagl and Marshall Cooperman; Prolonged Field Care: Development, Challenges, and Lessons Learned Post-9/11 by Lara Kendall and Paul Loos; The Rise and Fall of Afghanistan's Local Defense Forces by Arturo Munoz; and Fixing Intelligence or Fixing the Force? US Military Adaptation for Intelligence Requirements in Afghanistan and Iraq by Nathan White and over a dozen others. 
 
          Confirmed panel members include former Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers; General (Retired) John Allen USMC; Major General (Retired) Ed Reeder Jr., U.S. Army Special Forces; Major General (Retired) Edward Dorman, U.S. Army; General Alizai of the Afghan Army; Center for Strategic and International Studies Vice President Seth Jones; Dr. John Nagl (author of the book Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife) and a number of other distinguished individuals. There will be a reception from 4:30 - 6:00 pm on September 17 for panel members, paper presenters and the audience to meet and mingle. Each session will have a Q&A period to maximize audience participation. 
 
     Those interested in attending, should visit this link, which will provide the conference agenda and registration information: FPRI to Host a Joint Conference with the Irregular Warfare Center - Foreign Policy Research Institute. There is no charge for the conference or the reception. There will be a slight charge for parking and box lunches for those who wish to order them. Registration closes on September 4th. We hope to see you there.