Noon Meeting (Lincoln Center)

On Wednesday, November 10th, noon at the Lincoln Center, in a timely presentation for Veterans Day, Bill Kennedy, a retired USAF officer and military planner in the Pentagon, talks with us on national defense spending.  Our speaker reports that “Defending our nation and its citizens is one of the most important responsibilities of the federal government, so mandated in our constitution.  But such protection comes at great cost.  The US Department of Defense is our largest government agency and spends 15 percent of the federal budget – representing half of all discretionary spending- to maintain a standing military force to deter war and protect the security of our country. “Critics argue that preparing for war wastes precious resources that could better be deployed to address pressing social needs and that the existence of a standing military might very well precipitate the very conflict they are intended to prevent. Plan to hear a thoughtful response on this controversial issue. 

Bill Kennedy is an executive whose formative years were spent in the USAF, first earning his status as a “Top Gun” combat fighter pilot (and self-appointed title of ”World’s Greatest Fighter Pilot” ) and later as strategic planner/policymaker in the Office of the Secretary of Defense,  member of the National Security Council (Counter Terrorism Subcommittee), Inspector General, Pacific region, and Chief of Strategy, European Command.

 

His post military career included serving as an executive officer for a number of commercial and economic development organizations. His joys are leaving things better than he found them, flying, seeking adrenaline rushes, exploring Colorado’s great outdoors, and enjoying family, especially his wife of 56 years, two daughters, and two grandsons.