U.S. military brass address security issues
Top officers discuss new tactics for a new year, stress media's increased importance
By Jackie Cole, staff writer
Posted on April 20, 2006

Dressed in green and blue uniforms and covered in badges and stars, nine high-ranking officers from the United States Army War College addressed a room of JMU students and faculty Tuesday night. The issue at hand was “War and Peace in the 21st Century: Experiences, Prospects and Implications for the United States of America.”

The focus of the Army War College panelists was to begin a dialogue between military officials and members of the academic community on the current issues, and of national security, foreign policy and the military. The panel and open forum discussion was brought to HHS by the Eisenhower Series College Program and the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

J. Peter Pham, Director of the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs, said, “Obviously, in today’s world, the men and women of our armed services play a major role in that national enterprise, so it was natural to include them as the culmination of our year-long series on issues of current interest.”

The officers also visited several political science, justice studies and ROTC classes.       
“I am delighted that our panelists have not only agreed to be part of a large group presentation, but have visited a number of classes,” Pham said.

“Engaging students in a more intimate setting [will create] the type of informed dialogue we need on vital global and national concerns.”

In Kay Knickrehm’s class on terrorism, three officers spoke of their experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and working in the intelligence field. Most of the time was spent answering questions from students. They also emphasized several points in response to questions about how the war on terror is proceeding, the role of the media and the use of torture.

“Military and media relations are important in today’s military,” U.S. Army Col. Daniel L. Baggio said. “The media is a business.”

Baggio went on to say the media often focuses on stories that will sell and usually do not stay with a military unit for long, making it difficult for them to get their story told.
Knickrehm agrees.

“One of the great things about democracy is a free press,” Knikrehm said. “People should review a variety of media sources to try to get the full picture of what is happening around the world.”

Many of those present agreed changes in strategy must be made in order to adapt to the evolving world of globalization and technology. “The world is different,” U.S. Army Col. Greg E. Gross said. “We need to be proactive rather than reactive.”

U.S. Army Col. Joseph J. Frazier discussed national security and the information age, stressing military networks and computer systems all come from commercial America, therefore, he says terrorist have easy access to government data. Wood believes this new war is different from the Cold War, where he believes the former Soviet Union fought predictably and conventionally.

On the contrary, Col. Wood said, “this war has become a broader problem with asymmetrical threats.” He also cautioned terrorists are pursuing disruptive means to fight the United States.

Many of the officers present believed persistence is important when it comes to fighting the war in Iraq. Having recently served in Iraqi Freedom II in 2004, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Philip C. Skuta was able to give a “boots-on-the-ground perspective” of the war. “As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down,” he said.