About
AUSA’s Noon Report webinar series features presentations by senior Army leaders responsible for key programs and initiatives, as well as contemporary military authors who weave together the past, present and future story of the United States Army.

AUSA’s Noon Report Webinar series invites you to join us on Tuesday, 9 August 2022, at 12:00 EDT to hear a presentation by Michael R. Gordon, author of Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump. Gordon will discuss the struggle against ISIS and how Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden have waged war.

WEBINAR ENDED
Agenda
  • 1145-1200: Log-on
  • 1200: Opening remarks by LTG Leslie Smith, U.S. Army Retired, AUSA Vice President, Leadership & Education
  • 1205-1225: Presentation by Michael R. Gordon
  • 1225-1245: Question & Answer Session
  • 1250: Closing remarks by LTG Leslie Smith, U.S. Army Retired, AUSA Vice President, Leadership & Education
Presenters
1657545347-b14ec71552dcc473
Lieutenant General Leslie C. Smith, U.S. Army Retired
Vice President, Leadership & Education, AUSA
Lieutenant General Leslie C. Smith, US Army (retired) currently serves as the Vice President for Leadership and Education, Association of the United States Army, the Carter Chair for leadership at Georgia Southern, LV Smith Corporate Group CEO, and on several corporate boards. LTG Smith received his commission from Georgia Southern University (GSU) in 1983 as a Field Artillery Officer. In 1985, he graduated from GSU with a bachelor's degree in accounting and as a distinguished military graduate and branched as a Chemical Officer.

LTG Smith's final assignment on active duty from 2018 to 2021 was as The Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Army, the first Chemical officer to serve in that position. His early assignments include service in the Georgia National Guard; Chemical Staff officer in the 3-52d Air Defense Artillery Battalion; Division and DIVARTY staff officer and company commander in the 82d Airborne Division; Chemical Branch Assignments Officer, PERSCOM; S-3 and XO in the 23d Chemical Battalion; and the Joint Staff, J-5. In 2001, he assumed command of the 83d Chemical Battalion, where elements of the Battalion deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.

Following command, he served on the Army Staff in the G-8 in the Full Dimensional Protection Division. In 2005, he assumed command of the 3d Chemical Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and later served as the G-3, 20th Support Command (CBRNE). From 2008-2010, he was the 25th Chief of Chemical and Commandant of the United States Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School. In 2010, LTG Smith returned to the 20th Support Command (CBRNE) as the Commanding General. In June 2013, LTG Smith became the first Chemical officer to serve as the Commanding General of the United States Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood. He served as the Deputy the Inspector General from 2015 to 2018.

His military education includes the Chemical Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, Command and General Staff.

LTG Smith also holds master’s degrees from Central Michigan University and the National Defense University and is married to Vanedra, and they have two daughters.

1657549823-14e37695dee18021
Michael R. Gordon
Author of Degrade and Destroy
Michael R. Gordon is the national security correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
Gordon has also covered numerous military conflicts from the field, including the counter-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria, the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the Kosovo conflict, the Russian intervention in Chechnya, the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the American invasion of Panama.

He has also has travelled with three secretaries of state and written extensively about diplomatic issues.

Before joining The Wall Street Journal, Gordon was a correspondent for The New York Times for 32 years. From 1996 to 2000, Gordon was based in Moscow, where he served as the Times bureau chief. Later, he served as the Times’ chief military correspondent
Gordon co-authored three critically acclaimed books with the late Bernard Trainor, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general. His most recent book, “The Endgame,” covers political and military events in Iraq from the American-led invasion in 2003 through the withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2011.

The Wall Street Journal listed “The Endgame” as one of the top ten non-fiction books of the year. James Jeffrey, the former United States Ambassador to Iraq,” described it as “the most authoritative” account of the conflict.

Gordon’s second book, "Cobra II,” focused on the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. The Economist magazine described “Cobra II” as a “magisterial” account that provided “mountains of fresh detail on the war’s planning and progress with judicious analysis.”
Gordon’s first book, “The Generals’ War,” covered the American and allied campaign to evict Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Foreign Affairs magazine described the volume as the “best single volume on the Gulf War.”

In 1989, Gordon was awarded the George Polk Award for International Reporting for his work with Stephen Engelberg on the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons technologies and Libya’s effort to build a chemical weapons plant.

In addition to his writing, Gordon organized and reported an award-winning documentary on the conflict in Chechnya, "Deadlock: Russia's Forgotten War," which was broadcast internationally by CNN Presents.

He has also written articles for The New Yorks Times; Survival, a journal published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies; and Foreign Policy magazine.

Gordon is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received a B.A. from Colgate University, an M.A. in Philosophy from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

1658483711-b29fca71ac0b5614
Seth G. Jones
Senior Vice President; Harold Brown Chair; and Director, International Security Program
Seth G. Jones is senior vice president, Harold Brown Chair, director of the International Security Program, and director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He focuses on defense strategy, military operations, force posture, and irregular warfare. He leads a bipartisan team of over 50 resident staff and an extensive network of non-resident affiliates dedicated to providing independent strategic insights and policy solutions that shape national security. He also teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Prior to joining CSIS, Dr. Jones was the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. He also served as representative for the commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to the assistant secretary of defense for special operations. Before that, he was a plans officer and adviser to the commanding general, U.S. Special Operations Forces, in Afghanistan (Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan). In 2014, Dr. Jones served on a congressionally mandated panel that reviewed the FBI’s implementation of counterterrorism recommendations contained in the 9/11 Commission Report. He is the author of Three Dangerous Men: Russia, China, Iran, and the Rise of Irregular Warfare (W.W. Norton, 2021), A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland (W.W. Norton, 2018), Waging Insurgent Warfare: Lessons from the Vietcong to the Islamic State (Oxford University Press, 2016), Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida since 9/11 (W.W. Norton, 2012), and In the Graveyard of Empires: America’s War in Afghanistan (W.W. Norton, 2009). Dr. Jones has published articles in a range of journals, such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and International Security, as well as newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Dr. Jones is a graduate of Bowdoin College and received his MA and PhD from the University of Chicago.
Register To Watch Recording
First Name*
Last Name*
Email Address*
Mil Rank/Civ Salutation (i.e, COL, Mr., Mrs., SFC)*
✓
AUSA Membership Number
Company Name/Military Duty Assignment*
City*
State/Province*
Country*
We use BigMarker as our webinar platform. By clicking Register, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to BigMarker processing in accordance with their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Powered by BigMarker