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Report Rollout

“Build it and They Will Come:
A U.S. Strategy for Integrating Middle East Air and Missile Defenses”

Featuring Opening Remarks by Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL)





To help develop a U.S. strategy for advancing integrated Middle East air defenses, JINSA convened a high-level task force of retired U.S. flag officers with extensive regional and missile defense expertise. Please join the Task Force, and special guests Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL), for a webinar marking the release of JINSA’s new report, “Build It and They Will Come: A U.S. Strategy for Integrating Middle East Air and Missile Defenses.” The report is designed to help inform a forthcoming report that the Secretary of Defense will submit to Congress later this year on U.S. strategy for Middle East air defenses in accordance with the Deterring Enemy Forces and Enabling National Defenses (DEFEND) Act of 2022. The DEFEND Act was in part inspired by recommendations from JINSA’s 2022 report “A Stronger, Wider Peace: A U.S. Strategy for Advancing the Abraham Accords.”





Wednesday, May 3 –
2PM EST

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

This event is open to the public.

RSVPs must be received via the button
to the left at least 30 minutes prior to the start time.

Once your registration is confirmed, you will
receive the details to join.




Keynote Speakers:

Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA)

U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman has represented Virginia’s First Congressional District since 2007. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee as Vice Chairman of the full Committee and Chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee which oversees all tactical air and missile defense programs and accounts at the Department of Defense. In addition, as Co-Chair of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, he is a staunch advocate for a robust Naval fleet and a healthy domestic shipbuilding industry.

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Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL)

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider represents Illinois’s 10th District, where he is serving his fifth term. He is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He believes our nation and world benefit when the United States exercises leadership and engages with the international community. A longtime proponent of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and co-chair of the House Abraham Accords Caucus, Brad consistently leads on efforts in Congress to promote cooperation on security and counter Iran’s nefarious influence.

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Panelists:

General Gilmary Michael Hostage III, USAF (ret.)
Commander, Air Combatant Command JINSA 2017 Generals and Admirals Program participant

Gen. Mike Hostage served as the commander of Air Combat Command. As the commander, he was responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining combat-ready forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense. He was a participant of JINSA’s 2017 Generals and Admirals Program, and a member of JINSA Gemunder Center’s U.S.-Israel Security and Hybrid Warfare policy projects.

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Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, USAF (ret.)
Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force

Lt Gen Joseph T. Guastella Jr., USAF (ret.) served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. In support of the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force, he led the development and implementation of policy directly supporting global operations, force management, weather, training and readiness across air, space and cyber fields. Previously, Lt. Gen. Guastella was the Commander, Air Forces Central Command, Al Udeid AB, Qatar.

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LTG David Mann, USA (ret.)
Former Commander General of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense

LTG David Mann, USA (ret.) served as the commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense. Most recently, he served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, KY. Before that he served as the Commanding General, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, a theater level air and missile defense (AMD) organization responsible for executing global operations in support of the Combatant Commands (COCOMs).

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Lt Gen Henry Obering, USAF (ret.)
Former Director of the Missile Defense Agency

Lt. Gen. Henry A. “Trey” Obering, USAF (ret.) served as the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C. As Director, General Obering was the Acquisition Executive for all ballistic missile defense systems and programs. Prior to his assignment at MDA, the general planned and programmed 68 joint, Air Force and international programs with a $28 billion budget as Mission Area Director for Information Dominance on the Air Staff. Lt Gen Obering is a member of JINSA Gemunder Center’s U.S.-Israel Security policy project.

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Moderator:

David Sanger
White House and national security correspondent, and senior writer, at The New York Times

David E. Sanger is a White House and national security correspondent, and a senior writer. In a 38-year reporting career for The New York Times, he has been on three teams that have won Pulitzer Prizes, most recently in 2017 for international reporting. His newest book, “The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age,” and an HBO documentary by the same title, examine the emergence of cyberconflict and its role in the changing nature of global power.

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The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) is dedicated to educating Congressional, military and civilian national security decision-makers on American defense and strategic interests, primarily in the Middle East, the cornerstone of which is a robust U.S.-Israeli security cooperation. JINSA believes that a strong American military and national security posture is the best guarantor of peace and the survival of our values and civilization.