Distinguished Speaker Series – American Security in the Asia-Pacific: The Trump-Xi Meetings of 2026

You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on Nov. 18, 2026, at JW Crancer’s in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas (530 Delaware St.). A reception with cash bar 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, Dr. Joseph G. D. (Geoff) Babb, former professor of history in the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, will examine American security in the Asia-Pacific against the backdrop of the 2026 Trump-Xi meetings. He will discuss U.S. national security and defense priorities, China’s strategic challenges, and the role of regional allies and partners. He will also assess three key flash points—Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea — and consider the implications of U.S.-China diplomacy for regional stability and the road ahead.

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

Please register using the form below.

Joseph G. D. (Geoff) Babb, Ph.D., was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in 1973.

Babb began his study and work in the China field at the Defense Intelligence Agency in 1979. He completed his language program and training as a China Foreign Area Officer in the 1980s and served in Joint and Army Headquarters in Hawaii. He later taught for 35 years at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Babb holds a master’s degree in East Asian languages and cultures, and a doctorate in Asian history from the University of Kansas. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on China and the Asia-Pacific.

The CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association 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.