Dr. Albert “Bull” Mitchum presents international affairs update to W&M
On January 29, 2013, a standing-room only crowd packed the Reves Center for International Studies to hear Dr. Albert “Bull” Mitchum, Jr., political advisor to the commander of USAF Air Combat Command (ACC), present the ACC International Affairs Update: Global Trends and Their Impact on the U.S. Military.
Dr. Mitchum provided an unclassified overview of recent global and regional political-military trends, warming up his audience by telling them “my objective today is to change some of the things you think about, and how you think about them.”
Dr. Mitchum then guided his audience through the analyses in which he engages to determine the potential impact of global trends and events on the U.S. government, the U.S. military and the U.S. Air Force, and the policies involved in addressing such global issues.
He paid considerable attention to the economic and political relationships that increasingly connect the international community and social, cultural, demographic and technological pressures that may emerge to weaken these relationships.
“Every time you deploy, your objectives change,” Dr. Mitchum explained. “My job is to try and stay ahead of any issues and advise accordingly.”
After the talk, many students remained to ask further questions of Dr. Mitchum and his Air Combat Command colleagues.
“Dr. Mitchum’s talk was definitely very interesting,” said Sam Dunham ’15, prospective government major. “It was a different perspective on global affairs than what I’m used to, very much about boots-on-the-ground and applying theory rather than creating theory.”
“This is a globalized world,” remarked Colleen Leonard ’13, government and Latin studies major. “Dr. Mitchum described how the U.S. tries to work with everyone to come up with solutions that benefit the most people.”
Dr. Mitchum’s presentation was sponsored by the Reves Center for International Studies and the Project on International Peace and Security (PIPS).
