Practicing History: The William E. Colby Military Writers’ Symposium
By Carlo D'Este

Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

2008 Colby Symposium
April 2 – 4, 2008
The New Battlefield

Throughout American military history - whether on the beaches of Normandy, the frozen hills of Korea or the mean streets of Fallujah - soldiers, airmen and Marines all share a common commitment to service.

The lines of the 21st century battlefield are not as clearly drawn—in fact they are downright vague and confusing for today’s volunteer armed forces. There is little or no precedent to guide them. The harsh reality is that soldiers on the ground today often must improvise, knowing that their actions are often a matter of life and death. Many of them are Norwich men and women. The challenges faced by those in the front lines of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans is the subject of the 2008 William E. Colby Military Writers’ Symposium.

The April 2008 Colby Symposium, scheduled for April 2-4 at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, features guests David Bellavia, William Butterworth IV, Medal of Honor recipient Drew Dix, Jack Hamman, Col. T. X. Hammes USMC (Ret.), James Hornfischer, Mark Stoler, and Colby Award–winner R. Alan King. Hornfischer will also moderate a panel featuring guests at the general session.

Authors/Panelists

Thomas X. Hammes

Colonel Thomas X. Hammes, USMC (Ret.) is a well-known writer and commentator on military affairs. He has a BS from the United States Naval Academy, an M.S. from Oxford University and is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Canadian National Defense College. In his 30 years in the Marine Corps, Col. Hammes served at all levels in the operating forces and participated in stabilization operations in Somalia and Iraq. He is the author of The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century, a much-discussed book on how to combat modern-day insurgency.

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