You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on April 10, 2024, at the Riverfront Community Center in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas (123 S. Esplanade St.). A reception begins at 5:30 p.m., the buffet dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 7 p.m.

We are deep in the season of Ramadan, a time of fasting, self-reflection, and spiritual development for Muslims around the world.  But Ramadan 2024 includes fighting on land and sea across and around the Middle East. In October 2023, Hamas attacked Israel with a savage attack killing more than a thousand civilians leading to an Israeli response which has decimated much of Gaza. Shipping through the Suez Canal has been disrupted by attacks in the Bab -al Mandab. In this edition of our Distinguished Speaker Series, our panelists will discuss the historical roots of the conflict in Gaza, including the European origins of Israel-Palestine, events between 1948 and 1973, and the keys to understanding the players and factors influencing the current conflict.

Tickets are $35/person in advance or $40/person at the door.

Register/purchase tickets below.

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Benjamin M. Schneider is an assistant professor in the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He received his Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019 and has conducted fellowships with the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation. His research has appeared in the Journal of Contemporary History and War in History. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Strategy and Policy Department at the U.S. Naval War College, and is currently working on a book manuscript, tentatively titled To Hate and Kill: American War Crimes and the Failure of Military Justice in the Second World War.

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Brian L. Steed served more than 28 years in a military uniform in artillery and cavalry units and as a Middle East foreign area officer. As a foreign area officer, he served in the Jordanian Armed Forces where he was a battalion deputy commander and as a liaison with the Israel Defense Forces giving him immersed cultural experiences on both banks of the Jordan River. He served repeatedly in Iraq, worked in Embassy Abu Dhabi, and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Steed has authored and edited nine books dealing with cross-cultural influence and Middle East conflict and history. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science and History from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is an associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The CGSC Foundation through its Simons Center conducts the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) program to offer extracurricular, educational lectures intended to help enrich the Command and General Staff School curriculum and provide opportunities for outreach to the public. Topics covered in the Distinguished Speaker Series of lectures span the gamut of leadership and ethics, organizational effectiveness, collaboration, as well as current events and issues in business, government and the military.  

~ Thank you to our 2024 DSS Sponsors ~

Five Stars
Col. (Ret.) Tim and Karen Carlin
(The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation)

Four Stars
Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
Mr. John Ferguson (Ferguson Properties)
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) George Harris (First Command)
Ms. Jody Kaaz (Kaaz Construction)
Mr. Jerry Reilly (Reilly Holding Company)
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin

Three Stars
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller

Two Stars
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Ms. Sherry DeMaranville (DeMaranville and Associates)
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Mr. Art Fillmore
Mr. Bill Geiger (Geiger Ready Mix Foundation)
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Bill West

One Star
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Ms. Tina Farr (Armed Forces Bank)
Mr. Curt Gilfert (Advantage Printing)
Mr. Rick Schneider (Exchange Bank)

Questions about registration? – Contact Laurie Morgado, lmorgado@cgscf.org or call 913-651-0624.

For questions about the DSS contact Col. (Ret.) Robert Ulin, Simons Center Director, at rulin@cgscf.org or call 913-240-1495.

Registration is closed.