The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC)

August 15, 2012 (Wednesday)

The lecture takes place in Bliss Hall, Carlisle Barracks, PA. The doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the talk begins at 7:15 p.m., and the question period concludes around 8:30 p.m. All are welcome! For further information, please call (717) 245-3803.

The decade of the 1990s saw the end of the Cold War, conflict in Southwest Asia, emerging threats from new actors, retrenchment of US military activities around the world and a concomitant drawdown of forces. The reduced budgets of the post Desert Storm era forced the Army to make painful but necessary cuts in personnel and equipment, while transforming to meet new threats and ways of war. Civil and political leaders hoped for a "peace dividend" that would mean a smaller, cheaper military, yet one no less effective than the one that had served the Cold War so well. The Army's senior leaders worked to balance projected requirements, changing roles and missions, emerging technology, re-stationing, and personnel drawdown requirements against reduced budgets and the need to modernize the force and continue to care for Soldiers and their families. General Sullivan will discuss the issues he faced as Army Chief of Staff and discuss some of the methods he used. The strategic leader must manage the complexity ever changing situations while simultaneously building the joint, combined and interagency teams necessary to operate in a dynamic environment. Dealing with the present is not enough, and the successful leader must also shape the future of the Army to continue to fight and win the nation's wars.

General Gordon R. Sullivan is the President and CEO of the Association of the United States Army a dynamic organization with over 100,000 members that represents Soldiers, families, and the defense industry. GEN Sullivan was commissioned an Armor officer in 1959 from Norwich University. He holds a BA in History from Norwich and an MA in political science from the University of New Hampshire. His professional military education includes the U.S. Army Armor School Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

In addition to his many awards on active duty, he is also the recipient of the West Point Association of Graduates Sylvanus Thayer Award and a member of the Sergeants Major Academy's Hall of Honor. General Sullivan retired from the Army on 31 July 1995 after more than 36 years of active service. He culminated his service in uniform as the 32nd Chief of Staff of Staff of the Army. He is the co-author of Hope Is Not a Method (Random House, 1996), which chronicles the enormous challenges encountered in transforming the post-Cold War Army through the lens of proven leadership principles and a commitment to shared values. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Norwich University and the Marshall Legacy Institute as well as a member of the MITRE Army Advisory Board and a Corporate Member of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.