Senior Lecturer Ellen Pirro led a delegation of 4 graduate students and 7 undergraduates to the March 9-10, 2017, United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) student conference, held at Creighton University. ISU is a member of the Academic Alliance, which is sponsored by USSTRATCOM. Students attended from 11 different institutions, including Stanford University and the Air Force Academy. There were also delegations from the British and Canadian military. All our students took part in a “tabletop exercise” on base. They attended all the panels and speeches. As usual, they were outstanding. In the very first panel one of our students asked a pointed question which highlighted something unforeseen by the presenter. By lunchtime, there were comments making the rounds about how good our students were. They appropriately challenged assumptions, raised unforeseen issues, and contributed significantly.
Dr. Pirro and the ISU students are pictured with Major General Clinton E. Crosier, an ISU alum (Aerospace Engineering) who is the Director of Plans and Policy, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He is directly responsible to the USSTRATCOM Commander for the development and implementation of national security policy and guidance; military strategy and guidance; space and weapons employment concepts and policy; and joint doctrine as they apply to the command and the execution of its mission. He is also responsible for the development of the nation’s strategic war plan, strategic support plans for theater combatant commanders, and contingency planning for the global strike mission. The end results of this linkage will be increased interaction with USSTRATCOM, visits from Major General Crozier and other USSTRATCOM staff, and contacts regarding future employment.