Distinguished Speaker Series – The Impossible Mission

You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on Oct. 15, 2025, at the Riverfront Community Center in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas (123 S. Esplanade St.). A reception begins at 5:30 p.m., the buffet dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 7 p.m.

Our decision to go to war in Iraq was controversial, but our decision to terminate the Iraq war should have been even more controversial. After eight-and-a half years of war, and the sacrifice of 4,614 Americans, it is critical that we as a nation understand how this war terminated, and study the lessons learned so that we do not have to re-learn it all over again in the next war. In this Distinguished Speaker Series presentation, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert L. Caslen, Jr., will discuss what he faced leading the Office of Security Cooperation – Iraq (OSC-I) as described in his newly published book, The Impossible Mission. This book is essential reading for our legislative elected officials, military professionals, interagency partners and national security authorities in the attempt to understand the interagency teamwork necessary to transition U.S. government departments from war, to war termination.

Tickets are $35/person in advance or $40/person at the door.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Lieutenant General Robert L. Caslen, Jr., was commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Military Academy class of 1975. He served in the U.S. Army for 43 years retiring in 2018 as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Before becoming the West Point Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Caslen served as the chief of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, and was commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth and commandant of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Caslen also commanded the 25th Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was chief of staff of both the 101st Airborne and the 10th Mountain Divisions, where he also served as chief of staff of Task Force Mountain during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He also served in combat and overseas deployments in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Honduras, and Operation Uphold Democracy and the United Nations Mission in Haiti. After his military retirement he served as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina.

Caslen holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Long Island University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University. In addition to his many military awards and accomplishments, Caslen is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy, a member of the Kansas State Engineering College Hall of Fame and co-authored the book, The Character Edge Leading and Winning with Integrity. He was born in Connecticut, and grew up in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. He has been married to the former Michele Pastin, from Highland Falls, New York, for 45 years and has three adult sons and five grandchildren.

The CGSC Foundation through its Simons Center conducts the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) program to offer extracurricular, educational lectures intended to help enrich the Command and General Staff School curriculum and provide opportunities for outreach to the public. Topics covered in the Distinguished Speaker Series of lectures span the gamut of leadership and ethics, organizational effectiveness, collaboration, as well as current events and issues in business, government and the military.  

Thank you to our 2025 DSS Sponsors

~5 Stars~

Pritzker Military Foundation
The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation

~4 Stars~

Julius Kaaz Construction

~3 Stars~

Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
First Command
Robert and Clare Powell

~2 Stars~

Armada Corporate Intelligence
Demaranville & Associate, CPAs
University of Kansas
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Bill West

~1 Star~

Advantage Printing
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Art Fillmore
Geiger Ready Mix
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin