Want to learn how the professional education of American military officers influences their civic skills and disposition? Every officer swears an oath, multiple times throughout their career, to support and defend the Constitution. A focus on understanding this dynamic, the Constitutional roles and responsibilities between the military and the broader republic, is a central focus of officers’ professional education. In this panel, SNF Agora Visiting Fellow Dan Vallone will talk with Lieutenant Colonel Lee Robinson, American Politics Program Director at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Professor Marybeth Ulrich, Professor and Chair, Strategy and Policy Department at the U.S. Naval War College, and additional speakers, about the civic educational experiences military officers go through at different stages of their career.
About our speakers:
Colonel (retired) Charles D. Allen culminated a 30-year Army career as Director, Leader Development and is the Professor of Leadership and Cultural Studies in the Department of Command, Leadership, and Management at the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA. He holds the Elihu Root Chair of Military Studies.
A 1978 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he had overseas assignments in Germany, Honduras, and South Korea. Airborne and Ranger-qualified, his military education includes the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, and the United States Army War College (USAWC). Prof Allen has served in leadership and staff positions from platoon through Corps (I and V Corps) in Army and Joint Commands. He also served as an instructor and assistant professor of Engineering Management at West Point. During his tenure at USAWC, Professor Allen received the USAWC Excellence in Service Award and five “Colonel John J. Madigan III” Published Writing Awards. His areas of interest are Strategic Leadership, Creativity and Innovation, Organizational Change, and Civil-Military Relations.
Lieutenant Colonel Lee Robinson is the Director of the American Politics Program and an Academy Professor within the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. Lee teaches the introductory course to American politics and the capstone course on public policy. He is a 2000 graduate of the United States Military Academy and holds an MPA from Cornell University and a PhD in Public Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia. Prior to service as an Academy Professor, Lee served for over 20 years as an Army Aviation Officer including two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. Lee commanded the 603D Aviation Support Battalion in the 3rd Infantry Division from 2019-2021 and served as a strategist for the Army Talent Management Task Force from 2021-2022. His research focuses on strategic human resource management, public management and organizational performance, and civil-military relations.
Dr. Marybeth Ulrich is professor and chair of the Strategy and Policy Department. Her publications include a book, Democratizing Communist Militaries: The Cases of the Czech and Russian Armed Forces (University of Michigan Press). Her research focuses on strategic studies, democratization, Eurasian security, NATO, and civil-military relations. Appointments as Senior Fellow at the U.S. Air Force Academy and West Point’s Modern War Institute focus on education for military service in a democracy. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois and is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dan Vallone is the Executive Director of More in Common USA. Prior to joining More in Common, Dan worked on efforts to bring Americans together at the state and local level. Previously, Dan served six years active duty as an Army infantry officer, with one tour in Afghanistan. Dan also worked on innovation in education at the US Department of Education. Dan graduated from West Point and earned an MA in Contemporary China from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on a Fulbright Scholarship and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Dan lives in New York City.