Preparing for Great Power Conflict: Are we ready?
To view Dr. Nagl’s slide deck used in the presentation, please click the link below:
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
NSF Hybrid Event
In-Person at
Tamarack Casino
13101 S. Virginia St, Reno, NV
(Park and enter using Banquet Hall door on the north side of the building)
Breakfast served 8:00-9:00am, Forum 9:00-10:15am
$30 members/$35 guests
Virtual on Zoom
Forum 9:00-10:15am PST
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zTSFx4TQQFabTxu3Agizlg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
SPEAKER:
Dr. John Nagl
(General John J. Pershing Professor of Warfighting Studies in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, U.S. Army War College)
Preparing for Great Power Conflict: Are We Ready?
The National Security Forum of Nevada invites members and guests to a timely and
thought-provoking hybrid breakfast forum with Dr. John A. Nagl, one of America’s leading
voices on the future of warfighting and global conflict.
As the Russo-Ukrainian war grinds into its fourth year, tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait,
Iranian proxies destabilize the Middle East, and North Korea rattles nuclear sabers. Many
leading analysts—and even former senior U.S. defense officials—warn that we may be
closer to a near-term major power conflict than at any time since 1945.
Dr. Nagl, General John J. Pershing Professor of Warfighting Studies at the U.S. Army War College, brings both combat experience and deep scholarship to this urgent conversation. A West Point graduate, Rhodes Scholar, and retired U.S. Army Armor officer, Nagl served in
Desert Storm and Iraq. He later led research and policy efforts at the Center for a New
American Security and today directs an Independent Research Project on the Russia-Ukraine war.
His books, including Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife and Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War, have shaped how U.S. leaders think about counterinsurgency and military adaptation. Now, his work focuses on what lessons Ukraine teaches us about large-scale conventional war, how emerging technologies—from drones to artificial intelligence—are transforming the battlefield, and whether America’s defense industrial base is prepared for the next conflict.
Launching NSF’s Fall Series on the Future of Warfare
This forum also marks the kickoff event in NSF’s fall series on the future of warfare. Over
the coming months, we will explore how rapidly advancing technologies are reshaping
conflict and deterrence. Upcoming sessions will examine the role of drones and anti-drone
systems, the emergence of AI-enabled weaponry, the next generation of nuclear weapons,
and the potential for both defensive and offensive weapons in space. Together, these
discussions will offer a wide-ranging look at how the character of war is evolving and what
it means for U.S. security and global stability.
About the Speaker
Dr. John A. Nagl is the General John J. Pershing Professor of Warfighting Studies in the
Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations at the U.S. Army War College. A
retired Armor officer, he served in combat in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Nagl attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, where he earned his M.A.
and D.Phil. in International Relations. His dissertation became the influential book Learning
to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam. He also
authored Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War. Beyond his military service, he led the
Center for a New American Security as its president, served on the Defense Policy Board
and the Reserve Forces Policy Board, and taught as the first Minerva Research Professor at
the U.S. Naval Academy. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost experts on
counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, and U.S. defense strategy.
Why Attend?
- Exclusive Insight: Hear first-hand from Dr. Nagl on the sobering lessons from Ukraine and what they mean for U.S. and allied preparedness.
- Future of Warfighting: Explore how distributed operations, electronic warfare, and AI-enabled tools are redefining modern conflict.
- National Resilience: Discuss what it will take for the U.S. to sustain a long, costly war should deterrence fail.
- Engaged Community: Join Nevada’s national security community—military leaders,
scholars, policymakers, and informed citizens—for candid dialogue.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Time: 9:00–10:15 AM Pacific (Breakfast served 8:00–9:00 AM for in-person attendees)
Location: Tamarack Casino, Reno, NV
Virtual: Live via Zoom (registration required)
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zTSFx4TQQFabTxu3Agizlg
Don’t Miss This Forum
In his recent presentations, Dr. Nagl has posed a sobering question: If it is 1938 again, and
this time the Czechs are fighting back, what should we do to prepare? This forum will
challenge us to grapple with that very question.
Whether you join us in Reno for breakfast or online from anywhere in the world, we look
forward to your participation in what promises to be one of the most important NSF forums
of the year.
Seats at Tamarack are limited—reserve your place today.
The National Security Forum is a non-partisan, educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering civil discourse and informed discussion about timely and important national security topics. We bring expert speakers from around the U.S. to talk about national and international security, domestic and foreign terrorism, economic and financial threats, the safety of our food and water supply, energy policy, electrical grid stability, and a variety of other topics that affect all Americans. The National Security Forum partners with the Washoe County School District to host an annual Youth Security Forum to encourage future generations of national security leaders.
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