Good Morning, Buenos Dias, Bom Dia, Bonjour! For the next three (3) days, you are going to have the opportunity to hear from genuinely magnificent speakers—15 of them about complex emergencies. They will provide expert perspectives from thirteen (13) different countries, including the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Peru, Germany, Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Canada, Chile, and Guatemala.

I am saying that you will get a perspective on the situation IN the hemisphere FROM the countries of the hemisphere. There is great value in the perspective that they are going to bring. They represent multiple, highly regarded organizations. Their willingness to take the time to speak with you should resonate with all of you.

They are participating in this Conference because they care about our hemisphere, and thus, you should also!

I am delighted to hold this Conference after more than a year of dealing with this global pandemic crisis. Last year’s Conference was the first we held in the virtual modality since we had barely started our directed “stop movement and stay at home period” with Class 59.

I want you all to take a moment to reflect on the uniqueness of the experience that you are having this year. The IADC educates you on how to be a future leader who can solve complex problems.

And, here you are, living a complex problem, learning how to address these situations with a hemispheric perspective. It would be impossible to design a more perfect teaching environment!

We deliberately designed this Conference by organizing and dividing it into regions. We did this to help you categorize and contextualize all the information you are going to receive.

Throughout the week, you learn about the North American Region, the Andean, and Amazon Regions, the Central and Caribbean Regions, and the Southern Cone. You will see how transregional threats such as migration and crime manifest themselves differently in the various regions. I am saying that you will appreciate how the SAME threat manifests itself DIFFERENTLY based upon the region that it is affecting 4 You will observe throughout this week that each region is unique and comes with its own set of complex problems. You will appreciate the vastness and interconnectedness of our hemisphere.

After this Conference, you should be able to understand and assess the geopolitical issues in our hemisphere by region. You should also note trends and what security and defense policies will need to be implemented within the next ten years to adequately address these problems.

Now, I want to pause for a moment so that you can ask and answer a question for yourselves: why do you think that we dedicated time in the academic calendar to expose you to the situation in the hemisphere? Why would we share a hemispheric perspective with you all? Why would we go through the expense and the effort to host a hemispheric situation conference? The answer is simple—because we need you to be a part of the solution. The only way that things are going to get better in the hemisphere is if we make them better. There is a role for you in this.