Features

Why Government Ethics? – The Necessity of Government Ethics as Seen Through the Lens of its Worst Abuses
G. David Crocker

Governing Transformation in Contact: An Ethical Framework for Distributed Decision-Making across Interagency Networks
Babu George

Artificial Intelligence and Data Biases: What Aristotle Can Teach Us
John P. Ringquist and J. David Thompson

Global Security: Strategic Imperative or Aspirational Goal?
John L. Craig

More articles in this edition coming soon! – 

• Speed and Risk: Lessons from Ukraine in Accelerated Adaptation

• The Battlefield Is Everywhere: Irregular Warfare, the Gray Zone, and the Imperative of Signature Reduction in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

• Transforming in Contact: Practical Ethics, Accountability, and Governance for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomy, and Information Work Across Government

The post InterAgency Journal 16-1 appeared first on The Simons Center.

You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on June 17, 2026, in the atrium of the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (100 Stimson Ave.).
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.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

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ARNSF members are invited to a luncheon presentation of the Arter-Rowland National Security Forum.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

The post Arter-Rowland National Security Forum – June 18 appeared first on The Simons Center.

The CGSC Foundation’s Simons Center Director and ARNSF program leader Col. (Ret.) Todd Schmidt kicked off the Forum welcoming the ARNSF members and their guests. After lunch, he introduced Galui.

(Top photo and above) Jason J. Galui, director of the Endicott Center for Civic Participation, conducts a presentation and discussion about presidential decision making during the Arter-Rowland National Security Forum luncheon event at the Carriage Club in Kansas City on May 21, 2026.

During his presentation Galui discussed the various positions he had held in his Army career in which he was involved in the national security policy process. His duties included service on the National Security Council (NSC) for the Obama administration from September 2014 to January 2017, through the presidential transition to the first Trump administration on the NSC from January-May 2017, and later on the Council of Economic Advisors from August 2019 to July 2020.

Galui provided an overview of the NSC mission and the general process the NSC uses to develop policy to help drive presidential decisions. He also provided an overview of the NSC’s evolution and engagement with administrations going back to the Carter administration, hitting the high points of the various challenges each president faced and how they personally worked with the NSC.

After the presentation and an extensive question and answer period, Schmidt presented Galui with a small gift in appreciation for his time with the Forum. Schmidt also provided information about future ARNSF gatherings.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

Jason J. Galui leads the Endicott College Center for Civic Participation and serves as the College Fellow for Civics. Originally from Beverly, Massachusetts, Jason returned to his hometown in early 2026 after more than 30 years of service to the country.

Most recently Galui was the director for Veterans and Military Families at the George W. Bush Institute and taught “Presidential Decision Making” at the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Throughout a unique military career, Galui led soldiers into combat during the U.S. invasion of Iraq; deployed to Kabul from 2011 to 2012, where he served as a strategic adviser to the commanding general of the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan; taught economics to two generations of West Point cadets; directly advised the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon; and served in both the Obama and Trump White Houses.

As deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council and chief of staff to the national security adviser, Galui was a key point of continuity during the 2017 presidential transition. His final assignment in the U.S. Army was as senior adviser for national security at the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2019 to 2020.

Galui earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Samantha, also an Army combat veteran, have been married for more than 22 years and have two children.

The Arter-Rowland National Security Forum (ARNSF) is led by the CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association’s Simons Center and is an exclusive professional information sharing and networking forum for those interested in keeping abreast of relevant information about national security issues.

Members of the Forum and their guests meet periodically at guest speaker events in downtown Kansas City. National and regional guest speakers representing all elements of national power (Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic) highlight the meetings. The Forum is nonpartisan, but elected government officials may present from time to time.

The Forum is named after Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Arter, Founding Chairman of the CGSC Foundation, and Mr. Landon Rowland, the Foundation’s first major donor who was well-known in Kansas City for his keen interest in national security issues and his leadership in business and philanthropy.

ARNSF events are only open to ARNSF members and their guests. If you are not a member but are interested in joining, contact the CGSC Foundation.

The Arter-Rowland National Security Forum is sponsored by:

The post ARNSF explores presidential decision making appeared first on The Simons Center.

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 Peter Im, Ph.D., the faculty advisor for the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Information Advantage Scholars Program, who spoke to the attendees about the program and the support the CGSC Foundation had provided over time. After Im’s remarks, Schmidt introduced Galui.

(Top photo and above) Jason J. Galui, director of the Endicott Center for Civic Participation, delivers his presentation entitled “Marching Towards a More Perfect Union” during the Distinguished Speaker Series event hosted by the CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association and its Simons Center at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on May 20, 2026.

In recognition of the 250th anniversary of our United States, Galui said he seeks to inspire a new commitment to patriotism. If “We the People” are committed to securing the “blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” then each of us has essential duties and obligations to perform – as individuals and as a collective – in order to form a more perfect union.

“When I think about a more perfect union, I think about a society where citizens of various backgrounds of beliefs, commit to viewing one another as equal members of society,” Galui said. “One in which we learn from one another. We honor one another. We commit to one another. We enable one another to pursue our dreams and our hopes….’We’ is the first word in our Constitution. It’s ‘we.’ It’s not ‘I,’ it’s not ‘you,’ it’s not ‘me, except you.’ – It is ‘we.’ It is first person plural.”

Galui said the founders of our nation chose “we” to keep all of us together. He said that throughout 2026, we’ll likely hear a lot about the Declaration of Independence, but in his mind, it’s about the Constitution.

“The Constitution is a document that has persevered through intense trials and errors, to overcome the selfishness of human nature, and inspire intense collaboration, cooperation and compromise,” Galui said. “It has always been challenged throughout our history, and 2026 is no different than 1876.”

He framed the conversation with the idea of “perseverance” and that previous generations of Americans – from 1785, to 1865, to 1945 – all had to demonstrate perseverance at those points in U.S. history where the fate of the nation was at stake. Galui said that in 2026, it is our turn to persevere.

Even today, Galui said that all Americans must renew our commitment if we wish to secure our liberty for ourselves and our prosperity.

“It’s our turn to renew the bonding American principles and values,” he said. “To honestly hold ourselves accountable. It’s our turn to renew the national ambition of America, which is to me, the pursuit of a more perfect union, recognizing that we probably will never get there, but the pursuit is the way we get better. Perseverance has to be done by loving our fellow countrymen.”

Galui concluded his formal remarks talking about the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the framework for our system of self governance in the Constitution.

“To collaborate, cooperate or to compromise requires perseverance,” Galui said. “You need to talk sensible, speak the truth, work hard, remain faithful to the fundamental principles and values that make America, America…Americans before us persevered because they were bold and audacious. Time will tell whether our generation will follow in their footsteps.”

After Galui’s remarks Schmidt led a Q&A period, after which he presented Galui with a small gift in appreciation for his participation in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

Jason J. Galui leads the Endicott College Center for Civic Participation and serves as the College Fellow for Civics. Originally from Beverly, Massachusetts, Jason returned to his hometown in early 2026 after more than 30 years of service to the country.

Most recently Galui was the director for Veterans and Military Families at the George W. Bush Institute and taught “Presidential Decision Making” at the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Throughout a unique military career, Galui led soldiers into combat during the U.S. invasion of Iraq; deployed to Kabul from 2011 to 2012, where he served as a strategic adviser to the commanding general of the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan; taught economics to two generations of West Point cadets; directly advised the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon; and served in both the Obama and Trump White Houses.

As deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council and chief of staff to the national security adviser, Galui was a key point of continuity during the 2017 presidential transition. His final assignment in the U.S. Army was as senior adviser for national security at the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2019 to 2020.

Galui earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Samantha, also an Army combat veteran, have been married for more than 22 years and have two children.

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 Distinguished Speakers Series 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
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Geiger Ready-Mix
Col. (Ret.) Todd and Leslie Schmidt

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You are invited to a luncheon presentation of the Des Moines National Security Forum.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

The post Des Moines National Security Forum – July 15 appeared first on The Simons Center.

ARNSF members are invited to a luncheon presentation of the Arter-Rowland National Security Forum.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

The post Arter-Rowland National Security Forum – July 16 appeared first on The Simons Center.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

The post Distinguished Speaker Series – May 20 appeared first on The Simons Center.

ARNSF members are invited to a luncheon presentation of the Arter-Rowland National Security Forum.

Click here for more information and to register on the CGSC Foundation website.

The post Arter-Rowland National Security Forum – May 21 appeared first on The Simons Center.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Caslen served 43 years in the U.S. Army, including seven combat and overseas deployments, culminating in his role as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He authored the Department of Defense Strategy for the Global War on Terror and later became the 29th President of the University of South Carolina. A respected voice on leadership, ethics, and national security, he co-authored The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity and wrote The Impossible Mission: The Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Iraq. He continues to contribute to national security and leadership education as a Trustee of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Foundation.

“Leadership & Success” with Bob Fabian “BZ” Zinga is designed to inspire and equip listeners with practical insights that positively impact the trajectory of their lives and leadership journey. Get ready to grow, lead, and succeed — starting today.

To learn more and listen to the podcast, please follow the links below.
LTG Robert Caslen, USA (Ret.): Leading the Impossible” – “Leadership & Success” Podcast

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