Southern Miss to Present the 2023 Lt. Col. John H. Dale Sr. Distinguished Lecture in International Security and Global Policy

Mon, 02/27/2023 - 08:47am | By: Dr. Heather M. Stur

“The General and the Journalist: A Look Back at Iraq 2003 with General Buford ‘Buff’ Blount and Ted Koppel.”

The Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at The University of Southern Mississippi is pleased to announce that legendary “Nightline” anchor and war correspondent Ted Koppel will join General Buford “Buff” Blount for a conversation looking back on the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The event marks the 20^th anniversary of the invasion and capture of Baghdad resulting in the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The event will take place on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 6 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium on the Southern Miss Hattiesburg campus. It is free and open to the public.

Koppel was embedded with the 3^rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq and advance to Baghdad. During that time, Koppel got to know Blount and observe his leadership as he commanded “the tip of the spear” as the 3^rd Infantry Division was known. Koppel and Blount will reflect on the division’s drive to Baghdad, the famous “thunder runs” into the heart of the city, and the division’s role in the postwar occupation of Iraq. Dr. Heather Stur, Dale Center co-director, will moderate the conversation. Stur is the author of 21 Days to Baghdad: General Buford Blount and the U.S. 3^rd Infantry Division in the Iraq War, which will be out this spring with Osprey Publishing.

The Lt. Col. John H. Dale Sr. Distinguished Lecture Series in International Security and Global Policy honors the late Lt. Col. John H. Dale, Sr., a career U.S. Army Officer who served in World War II and the Korean War and earned the Bronze Star. Lt. Col. Dale held a graduate degree from Southern Miss and later served as professor of military studies for the University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

The lecture series is made possible through a generous donation by Southern Miss alumna Dr. Beverly Dale, in honor of her late father.

Previous speakers in the series include:

• Dan Rather, CBS news anchor and war correspondent (2019)
• General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army, Retired (2017)
• Dr. Robert M. Gates, Former Secretary of Defense, CIA Director (2014)
• Madeleine Albright, Former Secretary of State (2010)
• Wyche Fowler, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (2008)

During more than 50 years that he has worked as a professional journalist, Koppel has embodied the term “eye-witness to history.” As war correspondent, Koppel covered the conflicts in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, and he reported on the collapse of the Soviet Union as the only reporter inside the Kremlin with Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2003, Koppel was an embedded correspondent and “Nightline” anchor during the invasion of Iraq.

Over the course of 26 years as anchor and managing editor of “Nightline,” Koppel became the longest serving news anchor in U.S. broadcast history. In 2012, New York University named Koppel one of the “100 outstanding journalists in the United States in the last 100 years.” When he left ABC News after 42 years, he was the most honored reporter in that

network’s history, having received more “Overseas Press Club” awards than the previous record holder, Edward R. Murrow, and eight “George Foster Peabody” awards. Koppel also has won 12 Columbia-DuPont awards, television’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize. He has received 43 Emmys, including one for lifetime achievement.

General Buford “Buff” Blount (U.S. Army-retired) served a distinguished 33-year career in the U.S. Army, receiving numerous honors including the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Saint George Award, and the Order of Saint Barbara award. Blount graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Army ROTC program in 1971 and held various commands including battalion commander, 3^rd Battalion, 64^th Armor; brigade commander, 3^rd Brigade, 4^th Infantry division; and division commander, 3^rd Infantry Division. Blount also held the position of program manager for the Saudi Arabian National Guard modernization program. When Blount commanded the 3^rd Infantry Division in Iraq, the division completed the fastest, longest offensive attack in U.S. Army history. Blount is a seventh-generation serviceman with family roots in Bassfield, Mississippi.