The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a CENTCOM Strategic Survey Seminar in Tampa, Florida, from 19–21 July 2022. The 3-day seminar was entitled “Evolving U.S. National Security in the Middle East and South Asia.” It was aimed at giving about 35 U.S Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) civilian and military personnel a policy and strategic overview of the key security challenges facing CENTCOM’s area of operations.

The seminar provided CENTCOM and SOCOM personnel a deep regional and functional political and security analysis that is not readily accessible inside governmental security walls. Course Directors NESA Center Professor Dr. Richard Russell and NESA Liaison Officer to CENTCOM Cynthia Pritchett led the seminar.

The NESA Center’s internationally respected leadership and faculty members, Deputy Director COL David Lamm (USA, Ret.), Professor Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, Associate Professor Dr. Michael Sharnoff, Distinguished Professor Dr. Hassan Abbas, and Distinguished Professor Ambassador Ali Jalali, gave presentations at the seminar. Guest speakers included subject matter experts from the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, The Atlantic Council, and the Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies at the University of South Florida.

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