FORA executive officer attends National Security Seminar

Photo courtesy US Army War College

Michael Houlemard, Fort Ord Reuse Authority executive officer, (first row, third from left) poses with seminar colleagues from the U.S. military, Mali, Peru and Macedonia during the Army War College National Security Seminar. He was invited to join the special academic seminar and exchange thoughts about national security topics in the capstone phase of the graduate program.

Michael Houlemard, executive officer of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority was one of 160 business, government, academic and community leaders selected from across the country to take part in the week-long US Army War College 62nd annual National Security Seminar in Carlisle, PA last week.

Attending with students of the Army War College, Houlemard represented fellow American citizens in discussions with the next generation of senior leaders of the US Armed Forces giving the leaders a deeper understanding of perspectives across the American society they serve, according to a press release.

The National Security Seminar was the capstone event of the Army War College's 10-month curriculum, just before the class of 2016 graduated with the Master's degree in Strategic Studies.

The NSS forum was structured around a daily presentation about an issue of significance to the nation's security, followed by extended and candid discussion of the topic within one of 24 seminars. Featured speakers for this year's NSS included Ambassador Ron Kirk, a former U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama Administration;  Ambassador Ryan Crocker, a career ambassador within the U.S. Foreign Service and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Dr. Dan Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School Tufts University; and Michele Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs.

Mr. Houlemard became a member of USAWC Seminar 6, comprising Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force officers at the rank of colonel or lieutenant colonel, a senior federal civilian, and three international officers, representing Mali, Peru and Macedonia.  He was invited to share perspectives, background and experiences in the capstone event in the Strategic Studies graduate program.

The U.S. Army War College resident class of 2016 includes 380 students who represent a cross-section of the joint military, federal agency and multinational security environment: 218 Army officers, 11 Navy, 26 Air Force, 16 Marine Corps officers and one Coast Guard officer of the Active, Reserve/ National Guard forces.  The class includes 79 international officers from 73 countries, and 29 senior civilians of federal agencies.

The U.S. Army War College educates and develops leaders for service at the strategic level while advancing knowledge in the global application of land power.

Established in 1901 in Washington D.C., the Army War College relocated in 1951 to historic Carlisle Barracks, Pa. and today, it educates more than 1500 senior leaders and strategists annually through a variety of specialized strategic education programs.
Learn more about the U.S. Army War College and the National Security Seminar at www.carlisle.army.mil or www.facebook.com/usawc.