Category Archives: Events

Upcoming Lectures, Meet-ups, Happy Hours, Discussions, Symposia, Conferences

CIMSEC Elections 2014

You may have noticed a tab appear on our homepage over the past couple of days. It leads to a page announcing the upcoming election for CIMSEC’s officers for the 1-year 2014-2015 term. If you haven’t seen it, here it is quoted below:

CIMSEC will accept nominations and hold elections for its officer positions over the next several weeks. We here at CIMSEC are an all-volunteer force, so we especially rely on the commitment of our officers to carry out the day-to-day functions of the organization. If you are interested in taking on additional responsibilities to help us succeed in our mission of encouraging intelligent discussion about the maritime issues facing the world today we strongly encourage you to consider running for a 1-year term in office.

Nominations

Interested persons may nominate themselves or others. All members will receive an email with further instructions on the nomination process during the week of 18-24 May. Check back on the elections tab for more details on how to nominate during the week.

Candidates

– Must be general members at the start of voting (email [email protected] if in doubt to determine).
– May be members of the Board of Directors
– May run for more than one position
– Must accept their nomination and upon acceptance confirm they have read CIMSEC’s By-Laws and conflict of interest policy
– Will be asked to provide a statement for voting members to read regarding their qualifications, their goals, and, if an incumbent, their accomplishments.
– Need not reside in the DC Area nor be U.S. citizens

Click here for a list of voting officer positions. We also have non-voting officer positions not subject to election, if you area interested in assisting with one of these, please contact the Chairman of the Board at [email protected].

Click here for a list of CIMSEC area chapters. We are looking for motivated members to lead chapters in geographic areas, who will be elected by those members in their geographic area. If you don’t see one in your area, we welcome you creating one with the stipulation that you hold at least one informal event over the next year.

Voting

Voting on nominees will be conducted from 26-31 May by general members of CIMSEC. More to follow.

Timeline

18-24 May: Nomination period open
26-31 May: Voting on nominees
01 June: Winners announced
07 June: Winners take office

DC Chapter’s April Meet-Up

Spider Kelly's

Join our DC Chapter for our April DC-area informal meet-up/happy hour.  We will be meeting at Spider Kelly’s by the Clarendon metro stop.  We hope you’ll join us for a night of interesting people and interesting discussion.

Time:   Wednesday, 23 Apr 5:30-9pm
Place:   Spider Kelly’s
3181 Wilson Blvd.,  Arlington VA 22201
Clarendon Metro (Orange Line)

All are welcome – RSVPs not required, but appreciated: [email protected]

Time to Win Some Books!

Between the 17th and 24th of March, Offiziere.ch as well as the Facebook pages “Sicherheitspolitik” and Army HQ will hold another security policy contest with the support of “Seidlers Sicherheitspolitik“, “Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik“, #carbine, and CIMSEC.

Figure of a giant “aircraft carrier” that was to be built in the Second World War by the British from a rather unusual building material.

This time, our security policy contest will deal with a historical maritime theme.

During the Second World War, Britain’s land-based combat aircraft lacked sufficient range to attack German submarines in the middle of the Atlantic. A British journalist and inventor working for the British Combined Operations Headquarters, who was already known for his unusual ideas, suggested the construction of giant floating landing platforms (“aircraft carrier”) on which planes could land and take off. A prototype was tested on a lake in Canada. The proposed construction material was unusual, but it was available in sufficient quantities and at an unbeatable price. A boat that was also made from this material can be seen in the image below.

rumpelstielzchen-004

Questions
What material was the “aircraft carrier” made of?
What was the project name of this venture?
Who suggested the project to Winston Churchill?

The (hopefully correct) answers should be sent to [email protected]. The preferred prize can also be specified in the e-mail, although we cannot guarantee this.

Prizes
The prizes will be drawn from among the correct entries. They will first be drawn from among the entries answering all three questions correctly. If nobody manages this (don’t disappoint me!), the draw will be made from the entries that have two correct answers.

2 x “Soldaten, Guerilleros, Terroristen” by Philipp Knesebeck (gesponsert von Springer VS).
1 x “Global Environmental Change” by Achim Maas, Balázs Bodó and Clementine Burnley.
1 x “Life Begins at Incoporation” by Matt Bors.
1 x “Shadow Wars: Chasing Conflict in an Era of Peace” by David Axe
1 x “Vier Tage im November” by Johannes Clair.
1 x “Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It” by Morten Jerven.
1 x “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety ” by Eric Schlosser.
1 x “Cyber War will not take place” by Thomas Rid.
1 x “New Security Challenges in Asia” by Michael Wills and Robert M. Hathaway.
1 x “Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition” by Ben Schott.
1 x “Europa als sicherheitspolitischer Akteur” by Michael Staack and Dan Krause.

Future Rethinking Seminar: Current National Security Challenges & Opportunities

April 17, 2014

ADM James Stavridis, USN (ret)

Dean, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Current National Security Challenges & Opportunities
Marriott Residence Inn, Pentagon City 6:00-8:00PM
Admiral James Stavridis, (USN, ret) is currently the Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.  While on active duty, he led the NATO Alliance in global operations from 2009 to 2013 as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Previously, he served as Commander of U.S. Southern Command from 2006-2009, with responsibility for all military operations in South and Central America. He also served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy, and was the first Commander of the Navy’s “Deep Blue” strategic and tactical think tank after the 9/11 Pentagon attacks. a graduate of the Fletcher School’s PhD program, Dr. Stavridis has published five books and over one hundred articles. His current focus is on innovation, strategic communcations and planning, and creating security through international, interagency, and public/private partnerships in the turbulent 21st century. (Biography)
For the Rethinking Seminar, Dean Stavridis will be discussing topics related to:
     • National Security Challenges potentially including:
          o Terrorism / extremism
          o Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
          o Rogue nations
          o Regional hegemons (e.g. China/Iran) and the emergence of anti-access/area-denial capabilities, and
          o The growing threat to net centric warfare C3/ISR systems
     • National Strategic Opportunities including:
          o Phase 0 activities
          o U.S. presence in the Mid East and Western Pacific
          o Joint and international training / exercises
          o Partnering, building relations and military to military contacts
          o Military, diplomatic, economic (foreign internal defense) support to host nations
Register Online for this event.
REGISTRATION TIPS: 
 
Forgotten User ID: If you are already a registered user but have forgotten your User ID (which may be your email address), contact the Rethinking Coordinator.
Forgotten Password: The online system will provide you a new password should you require it from a link on the Registration page.
New Users: If you did not receive this message directly, you can register for an event by first establishing a short profile at www.jhuapl.edu/rethinking.  You will also automatically receive announcements about future events.
SEMINAR SPECIFICS:
Cost: None for the Seminar
Location: Marriott Residence Inn, 550 Army-Navy Drive, Arlington, VA (Pentagon City) Directions, map and parking info.
Supper: A sandwich buffet is available 30 minutes before each Seminar on a first-come basis.

 

PAST SEMINARS:

Video, audio, presentation and bulletized note files of past seminars remain available on the Rethinking Seminar Series website www.jhuapl.edu/rethinking under Video Archives (for the current series), Past Series, and Speakers tabs.  Videos from recent Rethinking Series years are also available on the JHU/APL YouTube Channel Rethinking Playlist.