This spring, the Modern War Institute hosted the annual Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture Series. The Margin of Excellence series illuminates the often-unseen world of military planners and highlights their critical role in shaping operations. This year, GEN (R) Robert Abrams ’82 took center stage as the keynote speaker, inspiring the audience while encouraging new avenues of thought.  

This series pays homage to the unsurpassed strategic intellect of Gen. Albert Wedemeyer (USMA 1919), a prodigy of military strategy whose skills went largely overlooked during his tenure. It was generously endowed by Dr. Mark and Julie McLaughlin in tribute to the legacy of Dr. John J. McLaughlin, whose biography “General Albert C. Wedemeyer: America’s Unsung Strategist in World War II” sparked its inception. 

This lecture series, funded by the General Albert C. Wedemeyer Strategic Lecture Series Endowment, accommodates various lectures, think tanks, and roundtable discussions for cadets and faculty. It aims to cultivate the next generation of visionary strategists and lifelong learners, not just within the Army, but across the entire nation. Out-of-classroom opportunities like this are made possible by donors supporting the Margin of Excellence.