Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland to speak March 17

Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the Commanding General of the United States Army Special Operations Command, will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on March 17, in the UNC FedEx Global Education Center, Nelson Mandela Auditorium, at 4:15 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public on a general admission basis. Members of the media are permitted to attend the event. Attendees should plan to park in one of the visitor parking lots on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus or provided by the Town of Chapel Hill.

Lt. Gen. Cleveland was invited to speak by the UNC-TISS National Security Fellowship Program and the UNC-Chapel Hill curriculum in peace, war, and defense, and will deliver keynote remarks following research presentations by four U.S. Army War College Fellows currently auditing courses and conducting research at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University.

According to Dr. Wayne Lee, Director of the UNC-TISS National Security Fellowship Program, and Chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill curriculum in peace, war, and defense, “all analysts agree that the future of American military operations abroad will include an increased role for Special Operations Forces. Lt. Gen. Cleveland, as Commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, can provide some key insights into what that might look like.”

Lt. Gen. Cleveland assumed command of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in July 2012, after long series of assignments with the 10th Special Forces Airborne Group, and throughout the Special Operations community. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit medal.

The event is sponsored by the UNC-Chapel Hill curriculum in peace, war, and defense, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, and the University of North Carolina General Administration Federal Relations Division.

For additional information, please visit http://nsfp.web.unc.edu/the-fellows-spring-conference/2015-capstone-conference/.

Through a scheduling coincidence, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Dan Bolger, former Commanding General of the Combined Security Transition Command and NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan, will be speaking in the same venue at 5:30 p.m. on his recent book, Why We Lost: A General’s Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. These events are not officially related, but have been scheduled to support audiences who may be interested in attending both talks. For additional information, please visit http://history.unc.edu/event/u-s-world-affairs-cold-war-beyond-10/.