Please join the Scowcroft Center’s Forward Defense  program for the latest installment of our Commanders Series, “Designing the future joint force with Admiral Christopher Grady.”

Generously supported by Saab, this event will take place on Monday, December 4, 2023, from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m. ET in person at the Atlantic Council headquarters (1030 15th Street, 12th Floor, NW, Washington, DC 20005) and virtually. Register using the form on the right.

The United States faces a decisive decade in which the decisions it makes today will determine the force it fights with tomorrow. While the United States has long relied upon its unrivaled conventional capabilities, it now faces unprecedented threats from near-peer competitors China and Russia who seek to challenge the rules-based international order on which US and allied security rests. This challenge will only be intensified by technological advancements from autonomous systems to hypersonic weapons, and persistent engagement across warfighting domains.

To confront this changing character of warfare, the Pentagon developed the 2023 Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) which presents a renewed framework for the joint force to approach competition and implement the Joint All Domain Command and Control concept unveiled in 2022. To implement the JWC, the Joint Chiefs of Staff has prioritized ensuring that service members receive innovative and combat-ready capabilities at a pace faster than US competitors. However, the Joint Chiefs must also ensure that adopting new technology does not come at the expense of present preparedness for combat. How can the joint force modernize for future wars while also maintaining its readiness for conflict today? This event will explore Admiral Grady’s vision for the force required to prevail in an era of strategic competition with China.

Join us on December 4 as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Christopher Grady, USN, in conversation with NBC News’ Courtney Kube, discusses his priorities to ensure the joint force can deter, and if necessary, prevail in conflict today and in the decades to come.

We hope you can join us for this important and timely discussion. To register to attend in person or receive the virtual Zoom link, please complete the form on the right-hand side of the screen.

The Commanders Series, generously supported by Saab, is the Atlantic Council’s flagship speakers’ forum for senior military and defense leaders.

Welcome remarks by

Michael Andersson
Board Director, Atlantic Council;
Head of Strategic Partnerships and International Affairs, Saab

Introductory remarks by

Gen James L. Jones, USMC (ret.)
PresidentChairman and Founder, Jones Group International;
Executive Chairman Emeritus, Atlantic Council;
Former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States

A keynote discussion featuring

ADM Christopher W. Grady, USN
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Moderated by

Courtney Kube

NBC News Correspondent covering National Security and the Pentagon, NBC News

Forward Defense

Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, its allies, and partners. Our work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources the United States needs to deter and, if necessary, prevail in future conflict.

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