Event information

25 November 2020, 18:30-20:00

US Department of Defense Structure and Policy-Making: The Strategic and Tactical Levels

Military Briefings

Close-up of a US Flag patch as a US Army (USA) UH-60A Black Hawk (Blackhawk) helicopter Close-up of a US Flag patch as a US Army (USA) UH-60A Black Hawk (Blackhawk) helicopter

This Military Briefing will provide participants with an overview of the US Department of Defense (DoD) structure and policy-making procedures at the strategic level in Washington. It will then proceed to contrast that level with the structure and tactical decision-making in the US military. The speaker will focus in particular on how high-level strategic decisions are ‘operationalized’ at the tactical level.

Speaker

Lt. Col. John Cherry is a Deputy Chair and Military Professor at the Stockton Center for International Law at the U.S. Naval War College. He was commissioned in August 1997 and has served in a variety of assignments, including Deputy Legal Counsel, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Staff Judge Advocate, 2d Marine Logistics Group; and Assistant Professor of International and Operational Law and Vice Chair, The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. In 2004, he deployed to Guantanamo Bay serving as Legal Advisor for the Combat Status Review Tribunals. In 2010, Lt. Col. Cherry deployed to Delaram, Afghanistan, as the Regimental Judge Advocate for 2d Marine Regiment. Lt. Col. Cherry and his wife, Jayme, have four children: Johnny (7), Jackie (5), James (4), and Joey (2).

Online

This Military Briefing will take place online on the platform Zoom.

To follow it, register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

About the Military Briefings

Military Briefings are a unique series of events relating to military institutions and the law. They aim to improve our students’ knowledge of military actors and operations and build bridges between the military and civilian worlds.

 

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Students at a Geneva Academy event News

Join Our Online Meetings for Prospective Students

1 October 2024

We organize online information sessions for prospective students interested in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and Master in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law.

Read more

ICRC Conference Booth News

Challenging Preconceptions About International Humanitarian Law

13 November 2024

At the 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, we hosted a booth with Geneva Call and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

Read more

Portrait of Ambassador Jürg Lauber Event

Opening Lecture by Ambassador Jürg Lauber

19 February 2025, 18:00-21:00

The opening lecture of the 2025 Spring Semester will be given by Ambassador Jürg Lauber, President of the Human Rights Council and the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations.

Read more

Yemen,  Sana'a, Faj Attan district. Destruction. Short Course

The Rules Governing the Use of Force in International Law

14-23 May 2025

This online short course provides an overview of the content and evolution of the rules governing the use of unilateral force in international law, including military intervention on humanitarian grounds and the fight against international terrorism. It focuses on the practice of states and international organizations.

Read more

Short Course

The Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts

6-21 February 2025

This online short course discusses the protection offered by international humanitarian law (IHL) in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) and addresses some problems and controversies specific to IHL of NIACs, including the difficulty to ensure the respect of IHL by armed non-state actors.

Read more

A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

Read more

Iraq, Mosul. View of the west bank after the war. Project

IHL in Focus

Started in January 2024

As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2023

published on July 2024

Read more