Events
In this edition of The World Today, a panel of military experts from the U.S. Army War College will discuss emerging threats to national security and issues affecting U.S. military deployment. In a conversation moderated by Professor Ronald Granieri, they will examine the importance of international partnerships, the impact of climate change on security, and much more.
SPEAKERS
Colonel Ryan Ehrler is a U.S. Army Special Forces officer with over 22 years of service. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He also holds a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Colonel Ehrler began his career as an Engineer Officer with experience in Korea, Germany, and deployments to Kosovo working on demining and infrastructure development. Since transitioning to Special Operations in 2001, Colonel Ehrler has focused primarily on Counter Terrorism operations with multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and most countries in the Middle East and North & West Africa. Colonel Ehrler most recently spent time in the Indo-Pacific region working with partner nations to build readiness and reinforce key relationships. Colonel Ehrler is currently a student at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, working on a strategic research project about the importance of regional expertise and partnerships to theater decision makers.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen McNamara graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He also holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Finance from Northeastern University. Lt Col McNamara is Tactical Air Control Party member with over 15 years of service specializing in Strategic Airpower, Joint Fires Integration, and Close Air Support. He deployed twice to Afghanistan supporting the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions where he developed tactical and operational expertise from the company to division echelons. Lt Col McNamara also gained vast project management experience as the Tactical Air Control Party Career Field Manager from 2015-2018 at Joint Base Andrews, MD. He deployed to Europe as an exercise planner for United States Air Forces Europe in 2018 where he planned a first of its kind Air Dominance exercise with the Ukrainian People’s Air Force and the Air National Guard. He is currently a student at the United States Army War College working on a strategic research project about how the United States can ethically use social media as a means of soft power influence.
Colonel Eric Swenson graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering. He also holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and both a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Penn State University. Colonel Swenson is an Army Corps of Engineer Officer with over 21 years of service specializing in leadership, combat engineering, healthcare value improvement, and education. In his last assignment he commanded an engineer battalion in First Army, the U.S. Forces Command’s coordinating authority for the Total Force Policy implementation. He was responsible for partnering with and assisting 170 Army National Guard units achieve their Department of the Army directed readiness goals. He is currently a student at the United States Army War College. His current research interests include combating the rising costs of healthcare and improving healthcare value.
MODERATOR
Ronald Granieri is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College Department of National Security and Strategy. He previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania as well as other universities in the United States and Germany, and has been Templeton Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of The Ambivalent Alliance: Konrad Adenauer, the CDU/CSU, and the Politics of German Westbindung, 1949-1966 (2003), and is working on a book about German politics from the 1960s through unification as well as a history of the Atlantic Community.
