Greensburg, PA – The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, in cooperation with the Current Affairs Panel of the U.S. Army War College, the Eisenhower Series College Program and Seton Hill University will present "U.S. National Security: New Challenges" on Thursday, February 12. The seminar will be held from 9 – 11:45 a.m. in Lynch Auditorium at Seton Hill University. Topics for discussion are: "Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Security: Legal Challenges in Fighting Terrorism," "The Global War on Terror – Beyond Military Action," "The U.S. and China: Strategic Partners or Strategic Rivals?" and "Forging Consensus: The National Strategy for Combating Terrorism." The seminar is free and open to the public. Local high schools scheduled to attend are Ligonier Valley, Latrobe, Greensburg Salem and Franklin Regional.

The Current Affairs Panel (CAP) was established in 1969 as an academic outreach program, and encourages dialogue on national security and other policy issues between students of the Army's senior education institution and the public. Serving on the panel at Seton Hill will be:

Colonel Thomas McShane, U.S. Army. Colonel McShane teaches National Security Legal Studies at the U.S. Army War College, and is faculty director of the Current Affairs Panel. An army lawyer and native Hoosier, he has served overseas in Korea and Germany, as well as in the Gulf War as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, and in Italy as a Staff Judge Advocate during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) campaign in Kosovo. He has taught criminal law and procedure at the Army’s law school, and served in Washington, DC on the committee overseeing the Manual for Courts-Martial.

Mr. Felix Hernandez, U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service. A 1979 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Mr. Hernandez served aboard the USS Fletcher and USS Coral Sea, and in Japan. After leaving the Navy, Mr. Hernandez studied theology in Rome and worked briefly in Silicon Valley before accepting an appointment to the Foreign Service. His first overseas assignment in 1990 was as Vice Consul at the U.S. Mission in West Berlin. Upon German reunification, he moved to the U.S. Embassy Office in eastern Berlin, working with U.S. economic and commercial issues in the former German Democratic Republic.

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen L. Hill, U.S. Army. LTC Hill graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1982 as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is a Joint Specialty Officer with training from various Army and Joint service schools as well as a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University. Earlier in his career, LTC Hill commanded two engineer companies in Germany and served at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, where he managed environmental projects for the Engineering Division. LTC Hill most recently served as the Senior Engineer Trainer at the NTC at Fort Irwin, California, where he assisted in developing training doctrine for contemporary operations and emerging asymmetric threats.

Lieutenant Colonel Gary D. Langford, U.S. Army. LTC Langford is a 1983 U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He also graduated from the Dwight David Eisenhower Fellowship Program of Graduate Studies at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served overseas in Germany and during the Persian Gulf War in both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and at military academies and bases throughout the United States. He recently served at Fort Carson where he was responsible for the mobilization, training, and deployment of over 25,000 soldiers to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh is a non-profit, non-partisan organization designed to promote greater understanding of important international issues throughout the community and particularly within the region’s secondary schools. Founded in 1931, the Council encourages informed discussion of world affairs, demonstrating the growing connections between Western Pennsylvania and the rest of the world. For more information about the Council, visit www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org.

The Eisenhower College Program is an academic outreach program established by the Department of the Army to encourage dialogue on national security and other public policy issues between students of the U.S. Army War College and the civilian public, with emphasis on students and faculty at academic institutions throughout the United States.

Seton Hill, chartered in 1918, is a leading coeducational Catholic liberal arts university with more than 30 undergraduate programs and 7 graduate programs, including an MBA. Seton Hill brings the world to its students through its distinguished lecturers and nationally and internationally renowned centers. For more information on Seton Hill, please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.

For more information about the Army War College Panel at Seton Hill, please contact Annie Prucey at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, 412-281-7028 or Becca Baker at Seton Hill University, 724-830-1069.