Four military officers gathered in the Paul M. Hebert Law Center Wednesday to discuss national security issues with an audience of roughly twenty students, professors and members of the public.
The officers are members of the U.S. Army War College’s Eisenhower Series College Program, an outreach program aimed at increasing public awareness of the military and its role in national security. The program began in 1969 and is offered at no cost as an educational outreach program, according to information from the Law Center.
For the past six years, the program has visited the University and area high schools to connect with the Louisiana public.
Harry J. “Skip” Philips, an adjunct professor at the Law Center and Army War College graduate, said the program is a learning opportunity for both the officers and the public. While the public gains insight into complex national security issues, the officers are able to assess public sentiment and incorporate their findings into their approaches to leadership, he said.
“It’s important to understand that we’ve got people leading our military who are thinking about these things,” Philips said. “We’re training our military leaders to think very broadly and think very strategically. These folks are going to be leading the implementation of strategic initiatives down the road that could affect your life.”
The four officers addressed pressing issues such as the international basis for the use of force, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Syria and the United States’ relationship with Russia. Outside of national security issues, the officers also expressed a commitment to engaging the public.
Lieutenant Colonel Antonio M. Paz, a 22-year service member serving in the Army’s psychological operations division, said a gap is developing between the civil population and military service members.
“It’s crucial the public understand who we are, what we’re about, what we do on behalf of our society,” Paz said. “We have to continue the dialogue so that we can educate as many people as we can.”
Air Force Colonel Lance D. Clark, a faculty adviser for the Eisenhower Series College Program, agreed with Paz. Since the military switched to volunteer service in the 1970s, less than 1 percent of Americans serve in the military, he said. Today, military service is largely a family business, in which children raised in military families, like himself, often join the service.
Closing the growing gap between civilians and the military is important for the military and the nation’s future, Clark said.
“As a military we are a cross section of society, we draw from society in order to allow the military to survive,” Clark said. “With less than 1 percent being in the military, we’re becoming increasingly polarized, and that’s something that can’t happen if we’re going to be successful as a military, or if we’re going to be successful as a nation.”
Paz and Clark were joined by Colonel Nicholas F. Lancaster and Lieutenant Colonel Tom Asbery. After graduating from the Army War College in the coming months, the four men will assume leadership positions in various capacities in Washington D.C., California, Kuwait and Afghanistan, respectively.

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Catherine Seddon

Military officers from the U.S. Army War College discuss national security and other topics at the U.S Army War College Eisenhower Series College Program presentation on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at the LSU Law Center.