The School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) is one of four United States Army schools that make up the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This "enormously rigorous" graduate school comprises three programs: the larger Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP); the Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (ASLSP), a Joint Military Professional Education II certified senior service college program for senior field-grade officers, and the Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program (ASP3), which supports officers in obtaining doctorates from civilian schools.
John Richard Boyd was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant during the second half of the 20th century. His theories have been highly influential in military, business, and litigation strategies and planning.
Ian Fishback was a United States Army officer, who became known after he sent a letter to Senator John McCain of Arizona on September 16, 2005, in which Fishback stated his concerns about the continued abuse of prisoners held under the auspices of the Global War on Terror.
Colonel James Henry Coffman Jr. is a retired United States Army officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for valorous conduct while serving as an advisor with the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq attached to the Iraqi Special Police Commandos in Mosul, Iraq in 2004.
Steven Kent Metz is an American author and professor of national security and strategy at the U.S. Army War College specializing in insurgency and counterinsurgency, American defense policy, strategic theory, the African security environment, and future warfare.
The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (USACAC) is located at Fort Leavenworth and provides leadership and supervision for leader development and professional military and civilian education; institutional and collective training; functional training; training support; battle command; doctrine; lessons learned and specified areas the Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) designates in order to serve as a catalyst for change and to support developing relevant and ready expeditionary land formations with campaign qualities in support of the joint force commander.
Curtis Michael "Mike" Scaparrotti is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the commander of United States European Command. He concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Scaparrotti previously served as the director of the Joint Staff. Prior to his tour with the Joint Staff, Scaparrotti served as commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and deputy commander, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, the commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Frederick James Kroesen Jr. was a United States Army four-star general who served as the Commanding General of the Seventh United States Army and the commander of NATO Central Army Group from 1979 to 1983, and Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command from 1976 to 1978. He also served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1978 to 1979. He commanded troops in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, enabling him to be one of the very small number who ever was entitled to wear the Combat Infantryman Badge with two Stars, denoting active combat in three wars.
Paul Yingling is a retired United States Army Colonel. In 2007 Yingling published an article in the Armed Forces Journal criticizing senior leadership for perceived failures in the conduct of the post-invasion Iraq War occupation. Yingling served three tours in the Iraq War, first as executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery in OIF I, as the effects coordinator for the 3rd ACR from March 2005 to March 2006 during OIF III, and finally as J5 for Task Force 134 from April 2008 to July 2009. He retired from the Army in 2012 to teach high school social studies.
Stephen M. Twitty is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army. Twitty assumed command of First United States Army on July 15, 2016, relinquishing command to become deputy commander of United States European Command on 9 August 2018. Previously, he was commanding general of Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division. Twitty was awarded the Silver Star during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Noted for his relationship with journalist David Bloom, who was embedded with his battalion during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Twitty has served in five combat deployments, including tours in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. He has commanded at the company, battalion, and brigade level during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Twitty is a graduate of South Carolina State University and a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was inducted into the South Carolina State University ROTC Hall of Fame in 2009, and selected as one of the university's Distinguished Alumni in 2004.
Pat Proctor is a Kansas State Representative, representing the 41st House District. He was first elected in November 2020.
David William Barno is a retired lieutenant general of the United States Army. He was commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005.
Patrick M. Hughes is a retired United States Army officer who served as the 12th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Previously, he was Director of Intelligence for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1994 to 1996 and the Director of Intelligence at United States Central Command from 1992 to 1994. He was the Commanding General, United States Army Intelligence Agency, and the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army from 1990 until 1992. He joined the United States Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as the Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis (Intelligence), and departed from DHS and Government service in March 2005.
Hybrid warfare is a theory of military strategy, first proposed by Frank Hoffman, which employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and cyberwarfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, lawfare and foreign electoral intervention. By combining kinetic operations with subversive efforts, the aggressor intends to avoid attribution or retribution. The concept of hybrid warfare has been criticized by a number of academics and practitioners due to its alleged vagueness, its disputed constitutive elements, and its alleged historical distortions.
Jeffrey W. Talley is an American businessman, scholar, and retired three-star general whose concurrent military and civilian careers encompass a blend of corporate, academic, and government leadership. His unique military and civilian contributions were recognized by the U.S. Senate on June 28, 2016, with Tribute to Lieutenant General Jeffrey W. Talley, as reflected in the congressional record.
Peter R. Mansoor is a retired United States Army officer, military historian, and commentator on national security affairs in the media. He is known primarily as the executive officer to General David Petraeus during the Iraq War, particularly the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. He is a professor at the Ohio State University, where he holds the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History.
Stephen Lanza is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as commanding general, I Corps at Joint Base Lewis–McChord from February 6, 2014 to April 3, 2017, when he transferred authority to Lieutenant General Gary J. Volesky. He retired from active service on June 2, 2017.
Edward John Drea is an American military historian. He deals especially with the Imperial Japanese Army and the Pacific War.
Adrian R. Lewis is a United States Army veteran, American historian and the David B. Pittaway Professor and Quincy Institute Fellow at the University of Kansas, where he has been a history professor since 2008.
Security Force Assistance (SFA) a term originating in the United States Armed Forces for military adviser assistance with "training, equipping and advising allied or 'partner' militaries to enable them to defend themselves without 100,000 Americans on the ground to do it for them." SFA is used when improving the security of the host country aligns with the national interests of the donor country. It may be used alongside or instead of larger commitments of the donor country's military personnel and matériel. This means SFA can provide an alternative to large-scale operations if a war becomes controversial or politically difficult.
