William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

Perry Center Seal
Agency overview
Formed 1997
Headquarters National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC
Motto Mens et fidis mutua
(Mutual understanding and confidence)
Agency executive
  • Mr. Mark Wilkins, Director
Parent agency Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Website Perry Center

William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies is a U.S. Department of Defense[1] institution for defense and security studies in the Western Hemisphere. Through courses, seminars, outreach, strategic dialogue, and focused research in support of policy objectives, the Perry Center works with senior civilian and military officials from the Americas to build strong, sustainable networks of security and defense leaders and institutions.[2] In so doing, the Perry Center promotes greater understanding of U.S. policy, mutually supportive approaches to security challenges, and improved, sustainable institutional capacity. The Perry Center's programs align with the Office of the Secretary Defense’s global initiative of Security and Defense Institution Building (SDIB).[3]

While the Defense Security Cooperation Agency is the Perry Center's executive agent,[4] the Perry Center also supports other Department of Defense components, such as United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)[5]

In 2013, The Perry Center was the only federal office to receive an Alfred P. Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility.[6][7]

History and Background

The William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (WJPC) was created on September 3, 1997[8] by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry, who had proposed creating a regional center tailored to the unique requirements of the Western Hemisphere where many countries could strengthen civilian defense and security leadership in revitalized democracies. The Perry Center traces its roots back to the first two Defense Ministerial of the Americas[9][10](DMA), where Secretary Perry convened defense ministers from around the hemisphere to discuss shared defense and security issues.

The Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) opened its doors on September 17, 1997, followed by a two-day Hemispheric Conference on Education and Defense. The Center conducted its first resident course, the Defense Planning and Resource Management Course, in March 1998. The Center also conducted the first of many in-region seminars that year.

On April 2, 2013, the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies was renamed the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in honor of the Center’s founder, the 19th Secretary of Defense, Dr. William J. Perry.[11]

The Perry Center is co-located at, and maintains an academic relationship with National Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC.[12]

Courses & Programs

Resident Courses

Resident courses form the core of the Perry Center academic program. Conducted in Spanish or English, foundational and specialized courses are designed to meet the evolving needs of sophisticated professionals from the defense and security sectors across the hemisphere. Resident phases are one or two weeks in length and are preceded by a distance learning phase.

Regional Seminars

Regional Seminars are held in conjunction with regional partners and are tailored to the specific objectives identified by the Perry Center, the partner institution, and the U.S. embassy team. Regional seminars serve to enhance sustainable institutional capacity, emphasizing support to national and regional policy-makers and leaders.

Hemispheric Forums

The Hemispheric Forum is a vehicle that takes advantage of the abundance of subject-matter experts and the community of interest in Western Hemisphere affairs. The format of each program is a panel discussion centered on a timely and important topic, with expert panelists representing government, think tanks, and academia. These events are open to the public and are streamed online with simultaneous Spanish interpretation.

Hemispheric Forum topics have included:

Alumni

Key to the Perry Center’s mission is relationship-building, as the Center strives to maintain strong relationships with alumni. Maintaining relationships with alumni helps the Center’s professors stay abreast of security and defense developments in countries throughout the region, and also provides opportunities for collaboration and increased regional exposure for the Perry Center. All of the following countries have sent participants to resident events at the Center: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Great Britain, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Spain, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, and the United States.

Notable Alumni

William J. Perry Award

The William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education is named after the former U.S. Secretary of Defense who was responsible for the establishment of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. Recipients are chosen for having substantially contributed in tangible ways to enhancing capacity in security and defense, building mutually beneficial relationships, and increasing democratic security in the Americas. Nominees may be educators, practitioners, or institutions of defense and security from throughout the Hemisphere, or from outside the region.

Year Individual CategoryInstitutional Category
2015 Admiral Vidal Francisco Soberón Sanz, Secretary of the Mexican Navy
Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, Ph.D.
N/A
2014 Dr. Richard Millett, Professor Emeritus of History, Southern Illinois University at EdwardsvilleThe Inter-American Defense College (IADC)
The Center of Advanced Studies of National Defense of Spain (CESEDEN)
2013 Dr. Maria Liz Garcia de Arnold, Minister of Defense of Paraguay Escuela Superior de Guerra (Colombia) (ESDEGUE)
2012 Mr. Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
Mr. Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence of Canada
The Regional Security System (RSS)
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation[16] (WHINSEC)
2011 Mr. Nelson Jobim, Former Minister of Defense of Brazil The U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program
2010 Dr. José Arturo Bayardi Lozano, Former Minister of Defense of Uruguay
GEN John Galvin, USA (ret.), Former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO
The Center for Superior Naval Studies of Mexico (CESNAV)
2009 N/AThe Strategic Superior Studies College of El Salvador (CAEE)
2008 N/AThe National Academy for Political and Strategic Studies of Chile (ANEPE)
2007 N/AThe Strategic Leadership for Defense and Crisis Management Course (CEDEYAC) of Peru[17]
http://www.esup.edu.pe/cedeyac.html

Other DSCA Regional Centers

The Perry Center is one of five regionally-focused security studies organizations, all of which are managed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.[18] The other four are:

See also

References

  1. United States Department of Defense http://www.defenselink.mil
  2. Department of Defense Directive 5200.41 http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/520041p.pdf
  3. DSCA Institutional Programs http://www.dsca.mil/programs/institutional-programs
  4. DoD Regional Centers http://www.dsca.mil/programs/dod-regional-centers
  5. SOUTHCOM Component Commands & Units http://www.southcom.mil/aboutus/Pages/Our-Team.aspx
  6. Tiny DoD office earns only federal award for workplace flexibility http://federalnewsradio.com/defense/2013/08/tiny-dod-office-earns-only-federal-award-for-workplace-flexibility
  7. Workplace Awards: When Work Works - William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) at National Defense University http://www.whenworkworks.org/workplace-awards/william-j-perry-center-for-hemispheric-defense-studies-chds-at-national-defense-university
  8. Department of Defense Directive 3200.13 http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/320013p.pdf
  9. First Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas, Williamsburg, Virginia, July 24–26, 1995 http://2001-2009.state.gov/t/ac/csbm/rd/6434.htm
  10. Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) http://www.state.gov/p/wha/hs/multilateral/cdma/
  11. NDU regional studies center named after retired secretary of defense http://www.army.mil/article/100486/NDU_regional_studies_center_named_after_retired_secretary_of_defense
  12. National Defense University - Regional Centers http://www.ndu.edu/Outreach/RegionalCenters.aspx
  13. Women Play Vital Role in Peace and Security https://www.dvidshub.net/news/122019/women-play-vital-role-peace-and-global-security#.VmHvfcpT7qo
  14. Recap: Hemispheric Forum on the Dynamics of FARC Demobilization http://chds.dodlive.mil/2014/07/02/recap-hemispheric-forum-on-the-dynamics-of-farc-demobilization/
  15. National Defense University event, journal focus on Western Hemisphere challenges http://www.southcom.mil/newsroom/Pages/National-Defense-University-event,-journal-focus-on-Western-Hemisphere-challenges.aspx
  16. WHINSEC Earns 2012 Dr. William J. Perry Award http://www.army.mil/article/88452/WHINSEC_earns_2012_Dr__William_J__Perry_Award
  17. Peru’s CEDEYAC to receive 1st CHDS “William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education http://digitalndulibrary.ndu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/chdspubs/id/260
  18. 10 U.S. Code § 184 - Regional Centers for Security Studies http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCODE-2010-title10/USCODE-2010-title10-subtitleA-partI-chap7-sec184
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.