You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on Nov. 20, 2024, 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.

In this presentation of the Distinguished Speaker Series, Col. (Ret.) Kevin Benson will share his experience as the director of plans for the United States Third Army during the opening of the war in Iraq. Benson’s observations counter the perception that there was no consideration before the war of what should be done after coalition forces arrived in Baghdad and removed Saddam Hussein. He will discuss the extensive planning efforts aimed at achieving the policy objectives for Iraq set by the Bush administration. As described in his recently published book, Expectation of Valor, Benson will provide his perspective on the challenges dealing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on force levels and the campaign to find the “smoking gun” of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He will likewise discuss the instructions given to Army, Marine and coalition forces, as well as the daily secure video teleconferences with U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon.

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

Register/purchase tickets below.

Colonel (Ret.) Kevin Benson served in the U.S. Army as a commander and general staff officer for 30 years. He was the director of plans for Third U.S. Army and the Combined Forces Land Component Command at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from July 2002 to July 2003. His final assignment in the U.S. Army was director, School of Advanced Military Studies, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He writes for professional journals and websites ranging from Parameters, Military Review, and Army magazine, to Strategy Bridge and the Modern War Institute. He reviews books for Army magazine.

Benson is a 1977 graduate of the United States Military Academy. His military education includes the U.S. Army Armor Officer Basic Course (1977); U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School (1983); U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (1991); and the School of Advanced Military Studies (1992). He also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program as a War College Fellow in 2001. He earned a doctorate in American history from the University of Kansas in 2010. He was a Sen. Robert J. Dole Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics in 2011. He was appointed an adjunct scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point in 2020.

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 2024 DSS Sponsors ~

Five Stars
Col. (Ret.) Tim and Karen Carlin
(The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation)

Four Stars
Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
Mr. John Ferguson (Ferguson Properties)
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) George Harris (First Command)
Ms. Jody Kaaz (Kaaz Construction)
Mr. Jerry Reilly (Reilly Holding Company)
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin

Three Stars
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller

Two Stars
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Ms. Sherry DeMaranville (DeMaranville and Associates)
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Mr. Art Fillmore
Mr. Bill Geiger (Geiger Ready Mix Foundation)
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Bill West

One Star
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Ms. Tina Farr (Armed Forces Bank)
Mr. Curt Gilfert (Advantage Printing)
Mr. Rick Schneider (Exchange Bank)

Questions about registration? – Contact Laurie Morgado, lmorgado@cgscf.org or call 913-651-0624.

For questions about the DSS contact Col. (Ret.) Robert Ulin, Simons Center Director, at rulin@cgscf.org or call 913-240-1495.

Registration is closed.