The Alabama World Affairs Council and NATO will present a virtual panel discussion on “Outer Space as a NATO Operational Domain” at noon on May 24.
The discussion, which will be held on Zoom and is free and open to the public, is part of a series of events presented by the World Affairs Councils of America and NATO as a part of the NATO 2030: Strengthening the Alliance to Address New Security Threats initiative. Registration and additional information are available at https://alwac.org/event-4311281.
The Alabama World Affairs Council is one of only six councils nationwide to be selected to host one of the NATO events.
“We are extremely proud to be one of only six World Affairs Councils nationwide to be selected to host an event with NATO,” said Maj. Gen. Walter Givhan (USAF, ret.), ALWAC President. “These events represent NATO’s desire to engage the heartland of America in discussions vital to the alliance’s readiness for the demands and challenges of the future. We are pleased to be a part of that process.”
Space has become an increasingly important component in the safety and security of NATO members. In 2019, NATO members adopted a new Space Policy, declaring space an operational domain. The decision was made in 2020 to establish a NATO Space Centre at Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany.
Givhan will serve as moderator for the panel, which will include Camille Grand, Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment at NATO Headquarters, and Lt. Col. Chris Mulder, Senior U.S. Air Force Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security of the Atlantic Council.
Grand previously served as Director and CEO of the Strategic Research Foundation (la Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique – FRS), the leading French think tank on defense and security. In that capacity, he served on several expert groups on the future of NATO. His research and publications focused on defense policy, NATO, nuclear policy and missile defense.
Grand also previously served as Deputy Director for Disarmament and Multilateral Affairs in the Directorate for Strategic, Security and Disarmament Affairs of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2006-2008.
He holds graduate degrees in international relations, defense studies and contemporary history, and is a graduate from the Institut d’etudes politiques de Paris. He also trained at the Institut diplomatique of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mulder serves as an Air Force Fellow at the Atlantic Council, writing and engaging on space, emerging technology, national security and defense issues. He previously served as the 80th Operations Support Squadron Commander, leading a diverse squadron of 530 personnel that maintained the airfield and navigation equipment, controlled aircraft, produced weather reports, taught aerospace physiology concepts and also included all student pilots from the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program.
Mulder instructed in the T-6 as a First Assignment Instructor Pilot and served as mission commander, evaluator and instructor in the F-16. He has held various squadron positions at Moody Air Force Base, Osan Air Force Base, Shaw Air Force Base and Spangdahlem Air Base, and is a command pilot with more than 2,600 hours in the F-16 and T-6, including 270 combat hours.
Mulder is a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Webster University. He also attended the Squadron Officer School, the Air Command and Staff College, the Joint Forces Staff College and the Air War College. He took part in the 2016 China, Middle East and South Asia Seminar, the 2020 Jewish Institute for National Security of America Military Leaders Program and the 2020 National and International Security Leadership Seminar.
The Alabama World Affairs Council presents nationally and internationally known speakers from both civilian and military life with the mission of promoting public awareness and understanding of international affairs as they relate to the interests of the U.S.
