Gave my last of three talks in Alaska last night

It was at Fairbanks, at the university.

After flying up Friday morning from Anchorage on Alaska, I spent rest of day having great lunch with senior academics (former Vietnam SOF and former Naval submariner), then working out, then going two hours with host Mike Sfraga's geography seminar class, which read PNM and had a lot of good questions. Talking it through with the students, I realized--yet again--how crucial it was for me to finish and complete PNM with BFA. Everything that was missing in PNM gets explained in Blueprint.

Talk last night was to about 250 in a big, beautiful auditorium. I went about 110 on the brief and then did a lengthy Q&A that I enjoyed a lot.

Then I signed books outside the hall. Then a cocktail with a small group of university leaders and two of their kids. Then to bed at 0030 to get up at 0430 and begin the long march home.

People are very nice up here and very appreciative of your making the trip, so I was very glad I came.

I look forward to further dialogue with locals on what Enterra can do on port security in places like Anchorage. I think Alaska has a huge amount of future economic potential in this globalizing world, and I'd love to be part of making that happen.

Comments

[Jim Johnsen]

Great talk last night in Fairbanks. One of the "kids" just returned from Iraq as an infantry platoon leader with a Stryker brigade. He agreed with how the strategic problem was framed, though wondered about its tactical, on the ground implications. We are very interested in how the model relates to Alaska, arguably one of America's gaps, and to the state's university system, with its 16 campuses spread out over 1,300 miles, eight of which are inaccessible by land. Thought provoking and fun. Looking forward to continued partnership.

[THOMAS SMITH]

THOROUGHLY ENJOYED YOUR PRESENTATION LAST NIGHT IN FAIRBANKS.I AM A SLOW LEARNER AND CAN'T HEAR ALL THAT GOOD BUT YOU CAME THROUGH ON A LOT OF POINTS WHICH HAVE INSTILLED IN ME A STRONG DESIRE TO STUDY FURTHER YOUR THEORIES.THANKS FOR MAKING THE TRIP TO OUR "GOLDEN CITY". TOO BAD YOU MISSED ALL THE WINTER FUN SUCH AS THE YUKON QUEST, IDITAROD, INTERNATIONAL ICE SHOW, ETC, ETC,!PLEASE COME BACK!!TOM SMITH

[Ro Bailey]

Thanks for the highly integrated presentation here in Fairbanks. It's the first time since my attendance at the National Security Management Course at Syracuse that I've heard real thinking on where we will find ourselves over the next 50 years. Back then (2000) we talked about China-the-emerging-threat and asked why we weren't working to make China a partner to solve energy, food production, and other challenges instead. We discussed have vs have not regions (the gap) of the world, but were not well enough informed to think about globalization as the spark to the issues. Since then I've read The Clash of Civilizations, and some of Bernard Lewis's books, and attended a two day conference on Militant Extremism put on by NORTHCOM. You lecture really put the pieces together. I can't wait to get started on your books. Thanks for coming to all our campuses. Come back soon.