Shortbursts: Guest speakers; JAWS; LEAD lunch; student/grad news; DC trip; CNAS task force; AGS events, and more!

“Shortbursts” is an occasional feature of Lawfire^® designed to provide quick updates on a variety of matters.

Guest speakers!

National security law (NSL) has many facets, and when students packed a Duke Law school classroom on Monday, 17 October they learned about an increasingly important aspect: how NSL relates to health law. 

They heard Ms. Heather Huntley, senior attorney for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), talk about the variety of legal issues with which the CDC deals, the recent COVID crisis, and a number of emerging challenges.

Huntley’s presentation was part of this year’s speakers series presented by the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) and co-sponsored by the NSL Society.

The evening prior to her talk, LENS hosted a select group of national security law and health law students to sit down at the dinner table with Heather and her CDC colleague Justine Walters for a candid discussion about challenges and opportunities.

The next speaker in the fall series will be Mr. Les Carnegie, a partner at Latham & Watkins, who will talk to Duke Law students on November 7th about “National Security Law in the Private Sector.” 

An expert in US export controls, sanctions, and foreign investment reviews by CFIUS, Mr. Carnegie’s presentation will surely be a fascinating! 

JAWS lawfare presentation

On Friday, 21 October, I had the honor of making a presentation on lawfare to the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) at Norfolk Navy Base.  It was a lot of fun to be back at Norfolk where Joy and I lived shortly after we married. (I was attending Armed Forces Staff College at the time.)

Here’s what JAWS posted on LinkedIn:

1L LEAD lunch

Duke Law’s LEAD program doesn’t end when 1L orientation is over.  Throughout the year the LEAD Fellows continue to mentor and engage with the 1Ls in their group  

I was very pleased when Fellows Katie Retzbach and Ava Parisi invited me to join their group of 1Ls for a discussion lunch on 28 October.  And, wow, what a fabulous time it turned out to be!  

The Washington Duke Inn provided the perfect atmosphere and service for us to meet and eat!.  The students were engaging, interesting and really fun! We did lots of Q&A; in fact, we were so involved we forgot to take a picture of our group. We’ll need a repeat!

Student and grad accomplishments

Johanna Crisman, a US Army captain, Duke Law 1L, and podcaster (see here) completed Ironman 70.3 on Saturday 15 October in Wilmington, NC.  It included a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run, all totaling… 70.3 miles! 

The photo at the left at the finish line shows (from left to right) her dad COL (R ) Robert Forbes and two friends, Ali Schmidt, 1L Duke Law, and Meaghan Nuckols, 1L Duke Law. 

Joy and I really enjoyed having breakfast 29 October with John Schwarcz, Duke Law ’22, who was in town to be sworn into the NC Bar.  After officer training school (OTS) in January, he’ll be heading to McConnel AFB, KS, to begin his military career as an Air Force judge advocate.  All the best to John!

2L Connor Sakati joined Duke’s Army ROTC battalion in anticipation of becoming an Army judge advocate. As you might imagine, he’s keeping very busy! Hooah, Connor!  

Duke students to DC!

LENS, in conjunction with the National Security Law Society, will take a group of Duke Law students to DC to attend the ABA’s 32nd Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law Conference (info about the conference is found here).

On Wednesay evening, the group will dine at the legendary Army and Navy Club on Farragut Square with lawyers practicing in the national security area.

CNAS’ Task Force for 50th Anniversary of All-Volunteer Force

I’m honored to be invited to serve on a task force sponsored by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) which will study the All-Volunteer Force in anticipation of its 50th Anniversary next summer.  Here’s how CNAS describes the project:

Washington, October 5, 2022—As the nation approaches the 50th Anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) on July 1, 2023, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is assembling a bipartisan task force examining the mechanics of AVF personnel management, identifying areas for evolution, and developing a modernized AVF roadmap for the next 50 years.

Led by CNAS Military, Veterans, and Society Program Director Katherine Kuzminski, the AVF at 50 project will harness the program’s expertise on military personnel policy, veteran and military family policy, and civil-military relations. The task force will consist of a diverse group of scholars, policy experts and practitioners from the military personnel community.

The task force will convene over the course of six months, focusing on elements affecting the strength of the AVF including:

• • Quality and professionalism of the force
  • Effective monetary and non-monetary incentives
  • Reserve component integration
  • Selective service mobilization
  • Representation of the force
  • Dual-professional retention
  • Cost considerations

Findings and recommendations from the discussions will be distilled into a public report to be published on July 1, 2023.

AGS activities

For those in the Durham area, our friends at the University’s renowned American Grand Strategy (AGS) program asked us to spread the word about two upcoming events, and we’re happy to do so:

And, make sure to mark your calendar for the IN-PERSON LENS Conference 24-25 February 2023!  Save the date!