General Huggins & Navy SEAL Fussell: The Evolution of U.S. Special Forces
About the Event
Recently retired Lt. General Jim Huggins served in the U.S. military for 35 years in multiple capacities: Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, Commander of NATO Forces in Afghanistan’s Regional Command South, Director of Operations for the Army and as the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army on joint matters, National Security Council matters and the politico-military aspects of international affairs.
Christopher Fussell spent 15 years as an officer in the Navy SEALs with SEAL Teams 2, 8 and Naval Special Warfare Development Group (unofficially known as SEAL Team 6). He deployed multiple times to Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and other nations in the Central Command region. From 2007-2008, he served as Aide-de-Camp to General Stanley McChrystal, then Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command. During his service, Fussell was heavily involved with counterterrorism operations, and worked extensively in the interagency arena.
They will discuss their careers in the Army and the Navy SEALs, and how the missions, focus and organization of the U.S. Special Forces have changed dramatically since 9/11. With the American public’s hesitancy larger scale warfare and troop deployments, are special forces being over relied upon to quietly achieve the objectives of much larger traditional forces? How might the SEALs and other specialized units be used in the coming years to fulfill U.S. foreign policy and security goals? And how have the lessons from their many years in combat prepared them and others for the civilian world?
About The Speakers
Chris Fussell
Chris Fussell is a Partner at the McChrystal Group Leadership Institute. He is the author of One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams, and a co-author of the New York Times bestseller Team of Teams, the first book in the series. Fussell was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 1997 and spent the next 15 years on U.S. Navy SEAL Teams around the globe. He then served as Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal during McChrystal’s final year commanding a Joint Special Operations Task Force fighting Al Qaeda around the globe.
Since leaving active duty in 2012, Fussell has also served as a Senior Fellow for National Security at New America, sits on the Board of Directors for the Navy SEAL Foundation, is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches at Yale University’s Jackson Institute.
Jim Huggins
Jim Huggins is a Partner at McChrystal Group, where he oversees client engagements in financial services, telecommunications and medical services. Previously, he served in the U.S. military for 35 years, retiring as a Lieutenant General. In his final position, Huggins served as the Director of Operations for the U.S. Army and as the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army on joint matters, National Security Council matters, and the politico-military aspects of international affairs. In this role, he directed the resourcing, restructuring, and execution for 1.1 million soldiers, 330,000 civilians and a $170 billion budget.
Huggins also served as the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division from 2010 to 2012. Throughout his military career, he deployed on seven combat tours and three operational deployments around the world. Huggins received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science from Central Michigan University.
Chris Fussell’s book, One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams, will be available for purchase and signing.