U.S. military general officers and senior enlisted advisors headlined a senior leader panel during the 32nd annual National Character and Leadership Symposium at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, Feb. 21.
The panel featured Gen. Stephen Whiting, U.S. Space Command commander, Gen. David Allvin, U.S. Air Force chief of staff, and Department of the Air Force enlisted leaders - Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Flosi.
The leaders expounded on strategic initiatives and how their services' respective capabilities will shape future battlefields in support of this year's theme: Warfighters to Win. The panel participants spoke to and fielded questions from an audience of U.S. Air Force Academy cadets, faculty and service members, as well as community leaders and visiting undergraduate students from around the world.
Allvin, Academy Class of 1986, began the discussion by underscoring the Defense Department's priorities of reviving warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and re-establishing deterrence.
"The three priorities of our defense secretary are crystal clear," said Allvin. "The first one, reviving the warrior ethos, starts here. The values and principles at the height of this warrior culture-this warrior ethos-are courage, commitment and sacrifice…integrity and trust. Those are the things we must value…those are the things we must develop."
Allvin emphasized unity as a paramount characteristic of mission success to service members across each component and throughout the joint force.
"My value is what I bring to the success of the team," said Allvin. "When we get into the darkest days of doing the toughest and most dangerous things, I am ready and I know my team is ready to do things for people we've never met. That is what it means to be in this profession of arms."
Whiting, Academy Class of 1989, noted the rapid growth and evolution of the United States' space superiority to deter aggression from foreign adversaries.
"It's our moral imperative to continue to support the joint force with the space capabilities that they've become reliant on," said Whiting. "Space, now, has enabled them to be more precise, more lethal and more far-ranging."
Whiting highlighted two focus areas for his command: protecting America's space capabilities and protecting the joint force from space-enabled attacks. He noted China as a pacing threat to U.S. space capability.
"China is the one moving breathtakingly fast," said Whiting. "They have an aspiration to be the world's greatest space power in the years ahead. They're not there today-we are the world's greatest space power."
Echoing Whiting, Bentivegna stressed innovative and critical thinking as warfighter attributes needed to stay ahead of global competitors.
"Thinking differently is crucial," said Bentivegna. "We need to collaborate, challenge assumptions, think outside the box and move quickly. I have no doubt we will achieve our goals."
Flosi underlined the importance of shared values and relationships with allies and partners as an asymmetric advantage for the U.S.
"When we're talking about nations competing and we're talking about a very capable and very dangerous foe, the reality is that we can't go about that alone," said Flosi. "We are very much invested at the department level, both services, in building those partnerships and establishing those relationships now."
The senior leader panel is one of numerous seminars held during NCLS. The two-day symposium covers a variety of topics presented by distinguished scholars, military leaders, corporate executives and world-class athletes.
The seminars are interactive, encouraging attendees to participate by asking questions, developing scenarios and often creating solutions to complex real-world problems through group discussion and presentation.
To see a list of the seminars offered in this year's symposium or for more photos from the event, visit 2025 NCLS and Flickr.
