Tonight, we will be talking about the 75th anniversary of the battle of the bulge. Tonight is also probably my farewell introduction, if that isnt a contradiction in terms, for the ongoing signature series with the History Department of the general staff college. The director of the command school, scott green, is here tonight. Scott, can you wave your arm . Thank you. [applause] in uniform, at the back of the room. This lecture series, which is about great military events, great commanders and sometimes great controversies in the art of war, has been ongoing since almost the beginning of my tenure 15 years ago. It has been our great series on in the library. This is probably my last introduction, because i have been drafted by the president , so, if you can identify with that, to go to washington to save the republic, which as you know needs saving. But as i always like to say, the command school is the intellectual center of the army. It is selfcritical, selfaware, it plays no favori