The Defense Education Forum of the Reserve Officers Association invites you to the following events:
 
 On Thursday, Oct. 17:

Civil Affairs and the Monuments Men:
Building on a Proud Tradition
 
 

A little understood mission of the U.S. military upon entering an area of operations is the preservation of cultural objects within that area.  A branch of the Army, Civil Affairs, primarily found within the United States Army Reserve, has within it a Cultural Affairs functional specialty.   A movie dedicated to this cultural preservation mission during WWII will be released later in the fall - “The Monuments Men”, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett.  We hope to have a trailer for the movie to provide an exciting introduction!  This small group of courageous men and women was instrumental in saving some of Europe’s most important cultural treasures.  Our panel discussion will bring together a group of experts to provide an overview of the WWII Monuments Men (then known as the  Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Team and in later doctrinal changes known as the Arts, Monuments, Archives Team) and how their proud tradition has been carried on today by a handful of Civil Affairs functional specialists. We will explore the role of Civil Affairs during future contingencies now that the U.S. is a party to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. 

This program is sponsored by:

The Defense Education Forum of ROA

The Civil Affairs Association

On Friday, Oct. 18:

 

Military Support to Peacebuilding
 

Peacebuilding, as defined by the United Nations involves “a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict management, and to lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development. [It] is a complex, long-term process of creating the necessary conditions for sustainable peace. It works by addressing the deep-rooted, structural causes of violent conflict in a comprehensive manner. Peacebuilding measures address core issues that affect the functioning of society and the State, and seek to enhance the capacity of the State to effectively and legitimately carry out its core functions.” As peacebuilding moves the forefront of peace and security activities worldwide, how is – or how should – the role of the U.S. military be evolving to this challenge? How do peacebuilding actors view how the military fits into a “whole of society” effort to address “human security” concerns? What is the way ahead on civil-military coordination in peacebuilding?

This program is sponsored by:

The Defense Education Forum of the Reserve Officers Association

George Mason University's Peace Operations Policy Program

The Foreign Area Officer Association

The Alliance for Peacebuilding

United Nations Association of the USA - National Capital Area

The Better World Campaign