‘Orchestrating Power’ topic of latest Distinguished Speaker Series event

The CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association and its Simons Center hosted the third lecture of the 2026 Distinguished Speaker Series at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on June 17, 2026. In this installment of the series, Col. Nathan K. Finney, director of the Commander’s Initiative Group for the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command, discuss his recently published book, Orchestrating Power, which explores how the expansion of the American state for World War I reshaped the nature of governance.

The evening began with a reception, followed by the CGSC Foundation’s Simons Center Director Todd Schmidt welcoming the attendees and recognizing sponsors. After the dinner period Schmidt introduced Finney.

Finney’s Orchestrating Power: The American Associational State in the First World War focuses on North Carolina’s Council of Defense and how the council was mediated by specific people at various levels of society and the results of their decisions. He explained that because of this intermediary positioning, the council was instrumental in expanding state capacity and capability for military and resource mobilization and supporting an increase in the nation’s ability to mobilize for the war. Ultimately, Orchestrating Power tries to answer the questions of how the U.S. grew an active force of 150,000 to more than 4 million within a year and a half and what that meant for the Army and American society.

Finney described how American governance after the turn of the century was one that favored states rights over federalism and there was no direct authority at the federal level to drive the myriad of mobilization activities needed to build military forces and deploy them overseas. This positioned intermediary institutions such as North Carolina’s Council of Defense to connect the public and the private and draw in individual citizens from society to their government. This associational connection of governance through private and some public organizations was perceived as less threatening to individual liberty while also allowing the government to enact their desired policies.

Finney further stated that during his research for the book it became clear that the real work of mobilizing American people for military service, for resource management and for social action, all occurred at the local and state level and would not have worked without these intermediary institutions. After the Selective Service Act was passed in may 1917, these councils of defense were at the heart of generating military manpower for the war effort. Finney also spoke about the politics of the North Carolina Council of Defense which he labeled “inclusion” and “exclusion” politics, speaking to the partial inclusion of women in service and the mostly exclusion of black citizens and how those decisions were made.

Finney concluded his presentation by summarizing that since WWI, the mobilization process has become more centralized at the federal level, particularly following the institution of the all volunteer force in 1973, and that the use of the associational state for most national emergencies is not likely given the dynamics and the context of WWI no longer exist.

After a question and answer period, Schmidt presented Finney with a small gift in appreciation for his participation in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

Colonel Nathan K. Finney is an Army Strategist currently serving as the director of the Commander’s Initiatives Group at U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command. He has served from the platoon to combatant command level, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and plans and strategy positions focused on the Indo-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and Central and South America.

Finney was a founding executive board member of the Military Writers Guild and is currently serving as the chairman of the advisory board. He was also a founder of The Strategy Bridge and the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. He is a managing editor at the British Journal for Military History and serves on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Military History. Among many other academic endeavors, he is a senior mentor for the Project on International Peace and Security (PIPS) and an affiliate of the Whole of Government Center at the College of William & Mary.

Finney is the co-editor and author of the book Redefining the Modern Military: The Intersection of Profession and Ethics (USNI Press), the editor and author of On Strategy: A Primer (Army University Press), and author of Orchestrating Power: The American Associational State in the First World War (Cornell University Press). He is currently researching his next book, which is focused on Taiwan in the Cold War.

Finney earned a doctorate in history from Duke University in 2022 while also serving as a Goodpaster Scholar. Previously, he received master’s degrees in public administration from Harvard University and the University of Kansas, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona.

The CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association 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. Programs are made possible in part by sponsors.

~ Thank you to our 2026 DSS Sponsors ~

~Five Stars~

Pritzker Military Foundation
The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation

~Four Stars~

Armed Forces Insurance

~Three Stars~

Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
First Command
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin

~Two Stars~

Demaranville & Associate, CPAs
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller
Shetlar Law Firm

~One Star~

Advantage Printing
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Geiger Ready-Mix
Col. (Ret.) Todd and Leslie Schmidt