Col. (ret) Larry Perino, Col. (ret) Lee VanArsdale, and Master Sgt. (ret) Kyle Lamb, all participants in Operation Gothic Serpent, will recount the events that took place twenty-five years ago during the Battle of Mogadishu. The battle was popularized by the blockbuster hit Blackhawk Down. The panel will discuss the events of the battle and how the leadership principles outlined in Kyle Lamb's book, Leadership in the Shadows, apply to today's battlefields.

Capt. Brett Reichert and Capt. Mark Zwirgzdas served as company commanders in 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division during the 2017 battle for Mosul, Iraq. They will discuss their experiences as commanders in an advise-and-assist mission during one of the biggest battles in the fight against ISIS, one that cost the militant group the capital of its so-called caliphate. Their talk will follow on an earlier MWI Speaker Series event with Colonel Pat Work, the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division’s commander,…

MWI War Councils are interdisciplinary panels on current events in the global security environment. Each War Council focuses on a topic of interest in the news and analyze the impact on the Army and the world. In this War Council, participants will discuss counterterrorism in the Philippines, where security forces have been engaged in intense fighting against an affiliate of the Islamic State, including the devastating urban battle in the city of Marawi.