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The People's Liberation Army (PLA): An Executive Education Course for Analysts and Practitioners
November 2022
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) was pleased to offer the fourth iteration of its three-day executive education course exploring the history, strategic culture, and increasingly global impact of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on November 2–4, 2022. Participants in this graduate-level course in Washington, D.C., joined a series of interactive seminar-style classes and lunch discussions, as well as a simulation exercise, as part of a curriculum shaped by world-class PLA specialists on one of the world’s most formidable militaries. Session topics ranged from technological modernization, doctrine, and operational concepts to recruitment, education, and the PLA’s five service branches.
BG Brian Davis (Ret.)
Senior Mentor
BG Brian Davis (Ret.), former Director of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s China Strategic Focus Group and former Defense Attaché to China, served as the senior mentor, providing key context and takeaways to participants throughout the course.
The course’s varied curriculum, interactive format, and condensed schedule are tailored to meet the needs of military and civilian practitioners, industry leaders, and research professionals working on China-related security issues, allowing participants to develop a unique skillset to apply to everyday work in government and industry alike.
| PLA History and Strategic Culture | David Finkelstein, CNA Corporation |
| Civil-Military Relations | Phillip Saunders, U.S. National Defense University |
| Recruitment, Training, and Education | Morgan Clemens, Exovera |
| Strategy, Doctrine, and Operational Concepts | Alison Kaufman, CNA Corporation |
| Organization and Reform | Joel Wuthnow, Georgetown University |
| The PLA’s Air, Ground, and Naval Services | Roderick Lee, China Aerospace Studies Institute |
| The PLA Strategic Support Force | Joe McReynolds, Peraton Labs |
| The PLA Rocket Force | David Logan, U.S. Naval War College |
| Modernization, Technology, and Civil-Military Fusion | Lorand Laskai |
| The U.S. Factor in PLA Strategy | Kristen Gunness, RAND Corporation |