Government, military, academic and international experts discussed and explored a wide range of deterrence issues August 13-14 at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, during the 15th annual USSTRATCOM Deterrence Symposium.
At the opening of the event, US Strategic Command Commander General Anthony Cotton addressed an audience of 820 people, including leaders from 15 international partner nations, asserting that the assembled group collectively represented “the highest nuclear intelligence on the planet.”
“The mission of deterring strategic attack is as important as ever — as is our mission to win conflicts when we direct them,” Cotton said. “Our allies and partners provide an asymmetric advantage over any potential adversary. Together, our deterrent power remains as formidable as ever.”
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the keynote address on the second day, emphasizing the importance of integrated deterrence in a changing global landscape.
“Instead of a bipolar world, we face multiple adversaries and malign actors that create an increasingly dynamic strategic environment,” Brown said. “To achieve effective deterrence, we must understand our adversaries’ perceptions and culture, the ever-evolving information environment, and the effects of advanced technology. Integrated deterrence leverages all of our national tools, and coordination with our allies and partners ensures that we comprehensively deter threats and secure peace and stability in an increasingly complex world.”
Following Brown’s remarks, he was joined on stage by Cotton and Terry Krueger, representing the Strategic Leadership Consultation Committee, to announce the winners of the annual General Larry D. Welch Award for Deterrence Writing: Major David “Jobs” Phillips and Mr. Jere Lavikainen. Each received a cash award, sponsored by the Strategic Leadership Consultation Committee.
Other keynote speakers include Nebraska Governor Jim Belin and Dr. Kimberly S. Baddiel, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
The two-day symposium also included a series of sessions and panel discussions where international deterrence experts and leaders discussed a wide range of topics, such as strategic posture in a multilateral environment, the political-military relationship of nuclear deterrence, and the challenges facing the defense industrial base.
“Despite the changing strategic environment, the objectives of deterrence remain the same,” Cotton said. “There is no doubt that the components of the nuclear triad have been and will continue to form the backbone of our country's deterrence force. This is where deterrence begins.”
