Eaker Lecture Series
From USAFA Folklore
The Ira C. Eaker Distinguished Lecture on National Defense Policy (often shortened to the "Eaker Lecture Series") is an annual lecture given at the Academy and sponsored by the Department of Political Science. The series commemorates the many important and significant contributions to national defense policy and security made by General Eaker, the air power pioneer, columnist and commentator.
Delivered to cadets at the United States Air Force Academy in May, the Eaker lecturer is an individual distinguished in the field of national defense policy. The speaker is chosen by a nominating committee of distinguished civilian and military members, chaired by the Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, United States Air Force Academy in concert with the Association of Graduates.
[edit] Past Lectures
| Year | Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Present State of the World | Dr. Joseph M. Luns, Secretary General, NATO. |
| 1980 | Choices for the 1980s | Dr. William W. Kaufmann, Professor of Political Science, MIT |
| 1981 | The Strategic Balance and Strategic Realities in the 1980s | Mr. Richard R. Burt, Director, Bureau of Politico Military Affairs, US Dept of State (Delivered by Mr. Robert Blackwill) |
| 1982 | Vietnam Revisited | General T. Ross Milton, USAF, Retired, Former U.S. Representative to the NATO Military Committee |
| 1983 | Defense Challenges of the 1980s | Gen. David C. Jones, USAF, Retired, former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| 1984 | Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, and Defense Management | Lt. Gen. Brent C. Scowcroft, USAF, Retired, Chairman, President's Commission on Strategic Forces |
| 1985 | Reflections on US-Soviet Relations | Michael H. Armacost, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs |
| 1986 | Joint Service: Plans and Operations | General Paul F. Gorman, USA, former Commander in Chief, US Southern Command |
| 1987 | Policy Implications of the President's Strategic Defense Initiative on National Strategy: Two Perspectives | Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, USAF, Director, Strategic Defense Initiative Organization Mr. William E. Colby, former Director, Central Intelligence Agency |
| 1988 | The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Challenges for the Future | Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, USA, Retired, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe |
| 1989 | National Security Policy: Challenges for the 1990s and Beyond | Gen. Robert T. Herres, USAF, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| 1990 | Managing a Changing Air Force: Perspectives of Its Former Secretaries | Former Secretaries of the Air Force Edward C. Aldridge, Jr.; Verne Orr; and Hans M. Mark |
| 1991 | The Gulf War and Afterward | Caspar W. Weinberger, former Secretary of Defense |
| 1992 | Space and the Warfighter | Gen. Donald J. Kutyna, Commander in Chief, US Space Command |
| 1993 | The Challenges to National Security and the Role of the Military in the New World Order | Gen. David C. Jones, USAF, Retired, former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Robert T. Herres, USAF, Retired, former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lew Allen, USAF, retired, former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Larry D. Welch, USAF, Retired, former Air Force Chief of Staff |
| 1994 | Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, and Peace-Enforcement | Amb. Rodger G. Harrison, Retired, former Ambassador to Jordan Gen. James P. McCarthy, USAF, Retired, Olin Professor of National Security and Defense Studies and Former Deputy Commander in Chief, European Command Brig. Gen. Ian C. Douglas, Canadian Forces, Retired, Senior Advisor to the Special Representative to the Secretary General for Liberia Col. Harry G. Summers, Jr., USA, Retired, syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times and holder of the Marine Corps University's Brigadier General H.L. Oppenheimer Chair of Warfighting Strategy |
| 1995 | Airpower in a New World | Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, Air Force Chief of Staff |
| 1996 | Sustaining Flight Through the Power of Knowledge | Dr. Paul G. Kaminski, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology |
| 1997 | Defense Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era | Dr. William J. Perry, former Secretary of Defense |
| 1998 | America's Security Challenges: Our Defense Posture | Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| 1999 | Educating the National Security Professional for the Next Millennium | Hon. Ike Skelton, U.S. Representative, Fourth Congressional District, Missouri |
| 2000 | Civil-Military Relations in America | Gen. Charles Boyd, USAF, Retired Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF, Retired Prof. Ole Holsti Professor Mackubin Owens |
| 2001 | Visions of the 21st Century and Beyond | Peter Schwartz, Chairman, Global Business Network |
| 2002 | National Missile Defense Changing Technology and Global Security | Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, Director of Missile Defense Agency |
| 2003 | The New American Way of War | Gen. Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| 2004 | The Development of the Professional Officer in the Twenty First Century | Eliot A. Cohen, Professor of Strategic Studies, John Hopkins University |
| 2005 | The Role of the Military as an Instrument of Power in the Twenty-First Century | Hon. James A. Baker, III |
| 2006 | Exploring the Impact on the Structure, Organization, and Process of National Security Resulting from the War on Terror | Gen. James E. Cartwright, Commander, US Strategic Command |
