Eight years ago, on the evening of September 11, 2001, John’s Auditorium was standing room only. The building was packed with Hampden-Sydney students who were trying to make sense of the senseless acts of violence that had just shaken our nation. In his address to these young men, Lt. General Sam Wilson, President Emeritus of H-SC, helped them understand how the events of that day would have far-reaching effects on America’

s future. These Hampden-Sydney men, like most Americans, remember what this tragic day represents. Eight years later, we still remember.

Last Friday, September 11, 2009, members of the H-SC community filled Crawley Forum for the 2009 Global Intelligence Assessment. This event was sponsored by the Wilson Center, and featured Lt. General Patrick Hughes, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 1996 to 1999, as the main speaker. General Hughes’ talk, “Global Instability & Its Potential Effect,”

was a timely reminder of what a complicated future the United States, not to mention the world, faces.

Over the course of an hour, General Hughes outlined his view of the future — how he thinks the world will change in the coming years. He expects that significant strategic changes will emerge from converging trends and pressures. In other words, General Hughes thinks that global conditions, such as population growth, economic deterioration, climate change, and resource competition, will drastically alter economic, political, and social conditions worldwide.

In the context of an ever-increasingly globalized world, this means that resulting factors, like terrorism, nationalism, and diseases, have the potential to unsettle, or at worst destroy, the existing world order. To mitigate these factors, General Hughes asserted that it should be our mission to seize the initiative and create situations that benefit the free world. This assertion begs the question, “What should we do to accomplish this?”

Towards the end of his speech, he provided some thought-provoking answers to this very question.

General Hughes believes that if we develop and follow a strategic path toward the foreseeable future we will meet and overcome approaching challenges. To do this, we must seek to improve ourselves by increasing out strength in all areas, refining our culture, and sticking to our fundamental values. The bottom line is that the United States needs strategic thinkers, thinkers who are not only (historically) well-grounded and forward-thinking, but also eager to solve our nation’

s problems.

As we learned from the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, global competition is going to force us to fight for what we believe in. General Hughes, despite thirty-five years of proud service to our nation, has not retired. Because he is invested in looking out for this country, he is still working. Terrorism, Hughes believes, will always be a threat—it will always be there. General Hughes ended his talk with a call to action: he called on all American citizens to strive to play a proactive roll in our nation’

s destiny. In that regard, Hughes believes, the future is in our hands.

Audience Reactions to “Global Intelligence Assessment 2009”

Last Friday’s talk by Lt. General Hughes garnered positive reviews from most of those in attendance. Mr. Ray Bottom ‘51, one of Hampden-Sydney’s most active alumni and an Air Force veteran enjoyed the talk, but wished Hughes had gone into more depth in explaining the powerpoint slides that accompanied each point. “The question and answer period was the best part,” Mr. Bottom added.

President Chis Howard had this to say about the talk: “General Hughes did something you should yearn to do when speaking to a smart crowd; he brought up some thought-provoking things.”

Professor James Simms agreed with the specific analysis of the speech but found it harder to agree with Hughes’s overall theme: “In general, this was a very nice talk…but Hughes talked about historical perspective and considering the future through this perspective, but our parents’ generation grew up with the threat of facism and a the Great Depression at home. “ Simms disagreed with Hughes’s “gloom and doom” scenario, adding, “[Which generation] is facing the deadlier threat?”

Student reactions were also more critical: John Andrew Steward ‘10 found himself asking “Is this it?” after the speech, and was disappointed with the talk’s broad overview of obvious threats. Steward expected more specific situational analysis and wants to see a further step taken to explore global political implications by having General Hughes come back for a two-hour seminar where he could go into more detail.

James Kennedy ‘10, a member of the H-SC ROTC, wants to see lower-ranking officers, like a captain or major, giving talks in the future. Officers like these, who have their “feet on the ground,” and are currently involved in active service, could provide a better picture of what it’s like on the field.

Related posts:

1. Veteran Alumni Honored by Wilson Center
2. Wilson Center Invites Alumnus Joey Smith ‘65 to Speak on Leadership
3. General Wilson describes the course of the College’s future