Panel to discuss national security, public policy issues

DAHLONEGA - A group of senior armed services officers will visit North Georgia College & State University Tuesday to discuss national security and public policy issues. The event is free and open to the public.

The panel, made up of career U.S. armed services officers, will hold the open forum at 6:30 in the Special Collections Room located in the Library Technology Center. As part of the forum, the panel will introduce topics and engage in discussion and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The event is part of the Eisenhower Series College Program, sponsored by the U.S. Army War College. Each member of the panel, which includes four career officers, serves as an expert on specific national public policy issues.

They are:

· LTC Shane Conrad, U.S. Marine Corps, will discuss whether the United States should engage in nation building and when the country should commit troops in failing states. He also will discuss "Does America need two armies? (Marine Corps vs. Army)" and "Is it time to reform NATO?"

· LTC Peter Evans, U.S. Army, will address drug cartel violence along the nation's southwest border and the Wounded Warrior Program.

· CMDR Eric L. Mason, U.S. Navy, will engage the audience in discussing the topics of nuclear energy and women on submarines.

· COL Richard Root, U.S. Army, will round out the panel and lead a discussion of expertise in globalization, Iraq and the Wounded Warrior Program.

Each year, several of the U.S. Army War College's students, who are senior military officers of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard, participate in the Eisenhower Series College Program. They travel around the country to engage in discussions with other students, academics and the public about national security issues and the employment of military assets.