Kentucky adjutant general details Guard evolution at McConnell Center seminar
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the experience gained through two decades of war continues to shape how the National Guard prepares, trains and responds to missions at home and abroad.
That evolution was among the topics discussed by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Haldane B. Lamberton, Kentucky’s adjutant general, during the University of Louisville's McConnell Center Strategic Broadening Seminar at the Kentucky Historical Society, Sept. 1.
The monthlong seminar running through the end of September provides military personnel and Department of Defense civilians with an opportunity to step outside the traditional military training environment and examine leadership, national security and American constitutionalism through a graduate-level academic experience.
Megan Waters, director of external education for the McConnell Center, said the program is designed to broaden participants' understanding beyond their military specialties.
"It's meant to be a civilian academic experience for them outside of the traditional train-deploy, train-deploy rhythm of the Army," Waters said.
This year's seminar includes 17 military reservists and three DoD civilians. The program incorporates firsthand engagement with leaders involved in national security at the state and federal levels.
While in Frankfort, participants met with Kentucky leaders, including Lamberton, and were scheduled to hear from Amy Hess, director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security.
"We have several speakers lined up for them today just so that they can kind of get an understanding of how Kentucky plays into the national security landscape," Waters said.
Lamberton used his discussion with the participants to reflect on how the Guard has changed since he first joined its ranks after leaving active duty in 1997.
“That has hugely changed the Guard,” Lamberton said, referring to the post-9/11 combat operations. “When I left active duty and came into the Guard and got to know the folks and Soldiers in our force structure, I can say, as a Guardsman, that we’ve evolved from who we were at that time.”
The transformation extends well beyond the commonwealth, Lamberton added.
"This may sound kind of trite, but the proficiency and professionalism of the Guard, and not just the Kentucky National Guard, but in my belief across all 54 states and territories, have improved tremendously from where we were," he said.
Lamberton identified the primary catalyst for this statewide and national growth.
"Again, I believe we're beneficiaries of the experience we gained from those deployments and the incorporation of that experience into all things operational these days," he said.
The Strategic Broadening Seminar provides participants with an opportunity to examine those experiences and their broader implications for national security.
The program, which began in 2014, is conducting its 13th iteration this year. Participants include active-duty and reserve military personnel, DoD civilians and, in previous years, National Guard members.
The seminar is slated to conclude with an immersive educational experience in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., where participants continue their studies through visits and engagements focused on American history, government, leadership and national security.
For more information on the Kentucky National Guard’s mission and its Service members, visit ky.ng.mil.
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