The Future of the Armed Forces in Latin America – 7th Annual Hemispheric Security Conference
Originally took place on Tuesday, May 17, a panel from the 7th Annual Hemispheric Security Conference.
“The Future of the Armed Forces in Latin America.” The panel includes Ambassador Alberto Mejia, Colombian Ambassador to Australia and former General Commander of the Military Forces of Colombia, Admiral Craig Faller, retired U.S. Admiral and Senior Fellow at Florida International University, Lieutenant General Rocky Meade, former Chief of Defence Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force. Moderated by Barbara Fick, Director, Americas Program/Faculty Instructor at Department of National Security and Strategy, US Army War College.
Alberto José Mejía Ferrero is the former Colombian Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand and a retired General in the Colombian Army. From December 2017 to December 2018, he served as General Commander of the Colombian Military Forces, one of many major posts he held in his 41-year career with the Colombian Army. He is considered an expert in irregular and asymmetrical warfare, as well as in fourth-generation wars, special operations, and civic action operations. He is recognized and the national and international levels for his distinguished efforts in the defense of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. As Colombian ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Mejía worked for national interests in the Pacific Alliance and participated in the consolidation of the bilateral relationship. He also served as an adjunct professor at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, and is currently honorary president of the Australia Colombia Business Council.
Craig Faller is a senior fellow at Florida International University, and former Commander of U.S. Southern Command. A retired four-star United States Navy Admiral, he has nearly four decades of global leadership experience. He is also a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and a senior fellow at the National Defense University. At U.S. Southern Command where he was responsible for U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean with the primary objective of forging strong security partnerships. He has served in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions both on large staffs and in Command of a United States Navy Carrier Strike Group and two warships. He has extensive experience in Washington, DC, in the Pentagon as the senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, James N. Mattis, and in Congress as the Department of the Navy’s Chief of Legislative Affairs (lead representative to Congress on behalf of the leadership of the Navy).
Rocky Meade, recently retired as Jamaica’s Chief of Defence Staff after 38 years. His numerous achievements include the enhancement of the JDF’s personnel, resources, and infrastructure, from a Brigade to a Division; several policies including gender optimization; the Jamaica National Service Corps; the Caribbean Military Academy; the Flight Safety Programme; the Jamaican Military Museum, Library/Internet Café; the Moneague Papers; and the Caribbean Journal of Strategic and Security Studies. He has chaired several Boards/Committees locally and internationally, has several publications and supervises PhD students in Strategic Studies and Linguistics. He holds BA and MA Degrees from the University of the West Indies, a Masters of Military Arts and Science from the US Army Command and General Staff College, a PhD from the University of Amsterdam and is an alumnus of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Germany.
Colonel Barbara R. Fick is an International Affairs Specialist focused on Latin American issues, including U.S. policy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Hemisphere defense and security affairs, and multinational and transregional cooperation. Currently, she is the Director of the Americas Program and serves as a professor in the Department of National Security Strategy at the US Army War College. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. Prior to serving at the U.S. Army War College, she was the Political-Military Affairs Chief at U.S. Southern Command. Her previous assignments include Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay; Strategic Advisor to the Commander International Security Assistance Forces Afghanistan (ISAF); Special Assistant to NATO Supreme Allied Commander; Security Cooperation Strategy/Plans Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia; and various regional and country advisor positions at U.S. Southern Command.
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