"Ethics and Irregular Warfare" to Be Discussed at USD Conference

As the United States continues the fight terrorism around the globe, both on and off the battlefield, military and academic experts will gather at the University of San Diego from Jan. 26-29 to discuss “Ethics and Irregular Warfare.”

Scholars and military officers from around the world will  gather to discuss the ethical challenges associated with counterinsurgency, the treatment of enemy  noncombatants, and stability and peacekeeping operations. This is the third consecutive year that USD has hosted the annual International Society for Military Ethics Conference.

“We are very pleased to host this annual conference exploring the intersection of military service and ethics, an area of vital importance and debate in today’s global response to violence and terror,” said George Reed, a retired Army colonel and associate professor in USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences.

David Rodin from the Law of Armed Conflict Project at Oxford University will give the opening keynote address on the “Ethical Challenges of Irregular Warfare” at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, followed by a panel discussion on “Ethics Education and Irregular Warfare” with military and education experts including U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. H.R. McMaster, who commanded troops in both Iraq wars and served as a special assistant  to the commander of the Multi-National Force there.

McMaster will also speak at the annual James Bond Stockdale Leadership and Ethics Symposium, which is being held this year in conjunction with the conference. McMaster will discuss the “Moral, Ethical and Psychological Preparation of Leaders and Units for Combat: Thoughts for Future Officers” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The event at 7 p.m. in USD’s Shiley Theatre is free and open  to the public.

Topics to be discussed at the conference include “Detainees and Interrogation during Irregular Warfare,” and “May Private Security Companies Be Integrated into Counterinsurgency Operations?”  and “The Ethics of Cyberwarfare.”  Other conference participants include Lt. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command.

Media inquiries and attendance at portions of the conference are welcome. For more information and a full conference agenda go to www.usafa.edu/isme.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.