Past Events

Speakers – Dr. Cynthia Watkins, Dr. Bud Cole (Captain, USN retired) Both Dr. Watkins and Dr. Cole are experts on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The understand the country’s internal politics and the personalities who lead the PRC. The two will provide insight into how they believe the PRC’s foreign policy will evolve given…

LTGEN Mark Wise, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired) provides a unique perspective of the world gained during his Marine Corps Career and during his last billet which was the Commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command which has the mission of supporting the development of future operational concepts and the determination of how to best…

Speaker:The Honorable John E. McLaughlin, Former Acting Director and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence John E. McLaughlin is a preeminent figure in American intelligence, with a career spanning over six decades of service. He served as the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) from 2000 to 2004 and as the Acting Director of Central Intelligence (ADCI)…

The story of Scott O’Grady’s 6 days on the Ground in Bosnia Speakers – Scott O’Grady and T.O. Hanford On June 2, 1995, Captain Scott O’Grady’s F-16 was shot down over Bosnia during NATO Operation Deny Flight, and for six days, he evaded Serbian forces in a masterclass of survival. On June 8, Captain T.O.…

RADM Gary Rosholt (USN retired) will cover the special forces of our potential adversaries and our allies. The audience will learn how what differentiates U.S. Special Operations from those of our allies and those of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Gary Rosholt is currently the President, L3 Technologies Saudi Arabia…

Since World War II, the U.S. Navy has been the dominant sea power and one of its primary missions is ensuring that every nation has freedom to ship goods on the world’s oceans. The on-going attempt by the Houthis to shut down merchant ship traffic through the Red Sea, Russia’s deployment of ships into the…

The relationship between Russia and Iran and the latter’s participation in the War in Ukraine has been the news. Not only has this war changed the way military leaders in the future will fight wars on land, but it has also challenged the rules-based order that has been in place since the end of World…

Lt General (ret) Dave Deptula Dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies General Deptula is the world’s foremost expert on military aerospace issues. While focusing on airpower,  this program will take a broader view: what’s our national vision and strategy for a new era of great power competition and what are the implications for strategy, deterrence,…

The 2025 Sam Johnson Defender of Freedom Awardee is Joe DePinto, CEO of 7Eleven. About the Award Awardee – Joe DePinto, CEO of 7Eleven Mr. Joe DePinto is the CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc. and leads the premier company in convenience retailing. Globally, there are more than 84,000 7-Eleven stores of which some 13,000 stores are…

The All-Volunteer Force (AVF) is now in its 51st year and by most measures has been successful, producing a high quality, combat-effective force that has performed superbly across the spectrum of conflict, from the waning days of the Cold War, to the short, high-intensity conflict of Desert Storm to the prolonged low-intensity wars in Afghanistan…