Wallace Speaks at U.S. Army Training Event
James C. Wallace, Lecturer in International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, was a featured speaker and trainer at the recent “Training the Trainers Seminar” on religious advisement in the battlespace.
The seminar was hosted by the U.S. Military Religious and Cultural Advisement Directorate (RCAD) from August 22-26, 2016 at the U.S. Military Joint Chaplains Training School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Wallace’s presentation, entitled “The Constitution, Religious Advisement and 21st Century Warfare,” focused on the issue of external religious and cultural advisement of command in battlefield operations.
Religious and cultural advisement is gaining traction as one of the key strategic issues for all the militaries of the Five Eyes countries, according to Wallace.
The seminar was attended by 40 hand-picked senior officers from across the U.S. military, including Brigadier General Thomas Solghem who addressed the group twice and stressed with great urgency the need to expand the strategic capability of religious and cultural advisement in the U.S. military.
In addition to the training that occurred, the seminar met with a group of young adults in Afghanistan via the U.S. military video linkage to discuss how religious and cultural issues play a role in their everyday lives and in the conflicts that still swirl in their country.
Wallace has been invited to meet at the Pentagon in the coming weeks with Major General Hurley and Brigadier General Solghem to help them in shaping their strategy for “religious and cultural advisement” in the coming year.