6:00 – 7:00pm Reception & Registration
7:00 – 8:00pm Program

ABOUT THE EVENT

When Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, General Tod Wolters was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) – the overall Commander of all NATO military operations and Commander of U.S. European Command. In addition to his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, General Wolters served as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command. General Wolters has also held oversight roles for Air, Space & Cyberspace Operations.

Very few individuals have his high-level of leadership experience and intricate understanding of: the tactics & strategies of the Ukraine War; how it may be fought in the coming months or years; and how drones, cyber operations & technological developments shape modern & future battlefields.

General Wolters will review how the calculations and projections have changed and continue to change for both Ukraine and Russia. He will assess the realities and viable expectations of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and Russia’s possible countermeasures.

General Wolters will also address the outlook for NATO nations’ ongoing support of Ukraine, and if the U.S. & NATO should provide even more advanced weapons systems to Ukraine.

Lastly, General Wolters will discuss how the Ukraine War will transform the strategies & tactics of future wars and what powerful lessons China and the U.S. may be learning, in regards to possible conflicts over Taiwan, the South China Sea and elsewhere in the years to come.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Retired Air Force General Tod D. Wolters served from May 2019 to July 2022 as Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). He was responsible for one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands whose area of focus spans across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The command is comprised of more than 60,000 military and civilian personnel and is responsible for U.S. defense operations and relations with NATO and 51 countries. As SACEUR, he was one of NATO’s two strategic commanders and commanded Allied Command Operations (ACO), which is responsible for the planning and execution of all Alliance operations. He was responsible to NATO’s Military Committee for the conduct of all NATO military operations.

General Wolters received his commission in 1982 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded the 19th Fighter Squadron, the 1st Operations Group, the 485th Air Expeditionary Wing, the 47th Flying Training Wing, the 325th Fighter Wing, the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan, and the 12th Air Force. He has fought in operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The general has also served on the Joint Staff as the Director for Operations, in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, as Director of Legislative Liaison and in Headquarters staff positions at U.S. Pacific Command, Headquarters U.S. Air Force and Air Force Space Command. General Wolter also previously served as Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Commander, U.S. Air Forces Africa; Commander, Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Director, Joint Air Power Competence Centre, Kalkar, Germany.

Gen. Wolters is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours in the F-15C, F-22, OV-10, T-38 and A-10 aircraft. He received his Master of Aeronautical Science Technology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is also a former Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.