The National Security Roundtable

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Maj. General (ret) Robert Scales is one of America’s best known and most respected authorities on land warfare, including contemporary and future warfare. Concepts and ideas contained in his writings and studies have significantly influenced the course of contemporary modernization and reform within the military. Prior to retiring from active duty in November 2000 as Commandant of the U.S. Army War College, Gen. Scales served for over thirty years in the U.S. Army. Commissioned as a field artillery officer, Gen. Scales commanded two units in Vietnam, winning the Silver Star for action during the battles around Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill) in the summer of 1969. He subsequently served in command and staff positions in the U.S., Germany and Korea, and is the recipient of numerous military awards and decorations.

In 1995, Gen. Scales created the Army After Next program, which was the Army’s first attempt to build a strategic game and operational concept for future land warfare. He has written several books on military history and the theory of warfare including Certain Victory, the official account of the Army in the Gulf War; Firepower in Limited War, a history of the evolution of firepower doctrine since the end of the Korean War; Future Warfare, a strategic anthology on America’s wars to come; and Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for America’s Military. His latest work, The Iraq War: A Military History, co-authored with Williamson Murray has been widely praised by major publications such as The New York Times, The Economist, Atlantic Monthly and Foreign Affairs.

Gen. Scales is currently President of Colgen, LP, a consulting firm specializing in issues relating to landpower, wargaming and strategic leadership, and is a frequent consultant to the senior leadership of every service in the U.S. Dept. of Defense, as well as to many allied militaries. He writes for and is often quoted in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Washington Times, Newsweek and virtually every service defense periodical and media network on issues relating to military history and defense policy. He also serves as Senior Military Analyst for FOX News, NPR and the BBC, and has frequently appeared as a commentator on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, PBS, TLC and Star Television. His commentary is carried frequently on all major television outlets in China.