Event: Strategic Leadership at Normandy: Lessons on Intellectual Courage

Event recording from 09/05/2017 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AT NORMANDY: LESSONS ON INTELLECTUAL COURAGE This event will build upon Christopher Kolenda's research on strategic leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan for his doctoral dissertation. Chris will examine the role of intellectual courage during the Normandy campaign and draw lessons for today's leaders in academia, non-profit, business, military and government sectors. Chris is the senior military Fellow at King’s College in London, England, where he teaches strategy in contemporary conflicts to graduate students. He remains in engaged on national security strategy and issues as a Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security and the Center for Global Policy, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the Truman National Security Project. Chris Kolenda's leadership in combat is featured in New York Times Bestsellers, "The Outpost" by Jake Tapper and "Stones into Schools" by Greg Mortenson as well as articles in The Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and The Washington Post. Chris led over 1,000 American and Afghan soldiers in the highly dangerous Kunar and Nuristan provinces. He became the only American commander who persuaded a major insurgent group to stop fighting and eventually join the government. Since then Chris served as senior advisor in Afghanistan to Generals McChrystal, Petraeus, and Dunford, and in Washington, D.C. to Undersecretaries of Defense Michèle Flournoy and James Miller. He was decorated by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel with the Department’s highest civilian medal for his work on strategy.