MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared November as Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture Month in honor of the 8th Annual Air University LREC Symposium, which will take place at Maxwell Air Force Base on 15-17 November 2023. Language, regional expertise, and culture education are important for a mission-oriented and responsive Total Force, which includes information exchange and analysis, cultural analysis and discussion, diplomacy, risk management, and other regional topical issues.
“The Air Force Culture and Language Center is again honored to host this year’s AU LREC Symposium in person at Maxwell Air Force Base,” said AFCLC Director Howard Ward. “Gov. Ivey’s proclamation recognizes the importance of language, regional expertise, and culture as a foundational requirement for preparing the force to operate globally with our partners and allies to implement strategy.”
The two-and-a-half-day symposium will also feature more than 70 lectures on strategic competition, LREC, virtual reality, language learning, the 12 Domains of Culture, cross-cultural competency, and many more.
“The symposium provides a platform for academic discussion on topics specific to language, region, and culture education in the military, as well as a forum for exchanging intercultural experiences and lessons learned,” Ward explained. “Additionally, we hope our speakers and topics will stimulate discussion around how we best focus our efforts to develop the skills required of a general-purpose force with a global mission. We must learn to understand our potential adversaries and to read their intentions accurately using skills that can’t be just-in-time trained to achieve dominance in operational tempo in a world that is increasingly global, connected, coalition at the core, and moving at a pace unmatched in history.”
With only a few days left to register, symposium staff expect nearly 400 service members, Department of Defense employees, academic faculty, and guests, to attend the in-person event at Air University.
THE 8TH ANNUAL AU LREC SYMPOSIUM FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- Gen. Mike Minihan, Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
- Maj. Gen. Linda S. Hurry, Director of Logistics, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
- Maj. Gen. (Retired) Suzanne Vares-Lum, President, East-West Center
- Chief Master Sgt. Wendell J. Snider, Senior Enlisted Leader for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Installations, Environment and Energy, Headquarters Air Force (SAF/IE)
- Dr. Montgomery McFate, Cultural Anthropologist and Professor, Strategic and Operational Research Department, U.S. Naval War College
For more information about the AU LREC Symposium or to register, please visit the website at https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AFCLC/AU-LREC/.
Click here to view the full LREC Month Proclamation.