December 2, 2024
Colloquium Topic: America's Strategic Posture – The Final Report of the Second Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States
SECRET - BADGES WILL BE CHECKED AT THE DOOR
The militarily troubling and increasingly aggressive behaviors of Russia and China over the past decade led Congress to direct a second review of the strategic posture of the United States, including nuclear weapons policy, strategy, and force structure.
Much has happened since the first SPC released its report in 2009. China’s rapid military build-up, including the unprecedented growth of its nuclear forces, Russia’s diversification and expansion of its theater-based nuclear systems, the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and subsequent full-scale invasion in February 2022, have all fundamentally altered the geopolitical landscape. As a result of China’s and Russia’s growing competition with the United States and its Allies and partners, and the increasing risk of military conflict with one or both, as well as concerns about whether the United States would be prepared to deter two nuclear peers, Congress determined it was time for a new look at U.S. strategic policy, strategy, and force structure.
This fireside-chat style colloquium will be led by APL’s Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis, Jim Miller.
Colloquium Speaker: Madelyn R. Creedon (Chair) and Rebeccah L. Heinrichs (Commissioner)
The Honorable Madelyn Creedon had a long career in federal service; she served most recently as Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy, a position she held from 2014 to 2017. She also served in the Pentagon as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs from 2011 to 2014, overseeing policy development in the areas of missile defense, nuclear security, combatting WMD, cybersecurity, and space.
Creedon served as counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services for many years, beginning in 1990; assignments and focus areas included the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear nonproliferation.During that time, she also served as Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the NNSA, Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy, and General Counsel for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. She started her career as a trial attorney at the Department of Energy.
Following retirement from Federal Service in 2017, Creedon established Green Marble Group, LLC, a consulting company, and currently serves on several advisory and other boards related to national security. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and a research professor at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. She holds a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law, and a B.A. from the University of Evansville.
Ms. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative, where she specializes in U.S. national defense policy with a focus on strategic deterrence. Heinrichs currently serves on the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group. She is also an adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics and is a staff member of the Defense and Strategic Studies Program at Missouri State University. Heinrichs served on the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness. She previously worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as an adviser to Members of Congress, where she focused on matters related to the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee and was instrumental in starting the Bipartisan Missile Defense Caucus. Heinrichs holds a B.A. in history and political science from Ashland University in Ohio and was an Ashbrook Scholar. She represents the Ashbrook Center on the university’s Board of Trustees. Ms. Heinrichs holds an M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.