Previous Guest Speakers
1 July 2025 2026-02-09 13:26Previous Guest Speakers
Previous Guest Speakers at the MacArthur Society's Commanders Call:
Jeremy Tate
Dr. Susan Morrow
The MacArthur Society was very fortunate to have as guest speakers the leaders in our country in the fight to restore Classical Learning in our schools, colleges and universities, and our services academies: They were from the company that created the SAT and ACT equivalent for Classical Learning, very appropriately name the “Classic Learning Test (CLT).” According to SecWar Hegseth, the CLT is “the gold standard” in academic testing, and he has personally directed all service academies to use for admissions. Our guest speakers:
Jeremy Tate is the founder and CEO of the Classic Learning Test (CLT) and a national leader in the revival of classical education. The Classic Learning Test is the fastest growing standardized test in the United States. Focusing on truth, virtue, and beauty, the exam is considered more academically rigorous than the ACT/SAT in assessing reading, grammar, writing, and mathematics. In addition, unlike the ACT/SAT exams which reject references and reading in American foundations and the Western Canon, the Classic Learning Test involves classical literature and historical texts. Tate has been featured on Fox News, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and the New York Times. He received his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Religious Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. Jeremy and his wife, Erin, reside in Annapolis, Maryland with their six children. You can find Jeremy on X @JeremyTate41.
Dr. Susan Morrow is the Director of Service Academy Partnerships for the Classic Learning Test, CLT. Over the course of her career, Susan has acquired a broad range of experience in academia, having worked in education from the pre-natal period to the post-graduate level. She earned her BS in Honors Biology from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans. Following 6 years of postdoctoral medical research with a focus on transgenics and in utero gene therapy, she left the lab to become a stay-at-home Mom and spent two decades homeschooling her children through high school. Susan resides in New Orleans and Annapolis. She has one daughter (USNA ’22), an aviation intelligence officer who just completed a deployment on the USS Nimitz, and a son who is in his second year at Tulane University on an ROTC scholarship. She also has a son-in-law (USNA ’20) who flies F-35s for the Navy.
Lt. General
Tom McInerney,
USAF, ret
USMA '59
Lt General Thomas McInerney, USMA ’59, retired from military service as Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He served in numerous key Air Force assignments and has extensive military command and overseas experience. A command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, General McInerney completed four tours of duty in Vietnam, flight reconnaissance missions during the Cuban missile crisis and air escort missions in the Berlin Corridor. He commanded the 3rd Air Force in England, was the Vice Commander in Chief of US Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein AFB in Germany, and was the commander of Alaskan Air Commander, later the 11th Air Force. After retiring, General McInerney was a Vice President at Loral Defense Systems and started his own consulting company. He was the Chief Executive Officer and President of Business Executives for National Security, and he was a Fox News military analyst. Full USAF Bio | Watch Commanders Call video with General McInerney | Did you know? At the Thayer Hotel, there is a plaque about his brothers and father–all West Point graduates. Read their biographies here.
Lt. General
Rod Bishop,
USAF, ret
Lt General Rod Bishop, USAF (Ret.), USAFA 1974, is the founder of STARRS and serves on their board of directors as the Chairman Emeritus. He served on active duty for 34 years as an aircraft commander, instructor pilot, and flight examiner. Gen. Bishop commanded airmen at every operational level, including two squadrons, an operations group, an airlift wing, and a numbered air force. He deployed 7 times to contingencies as USTRANSCOM/Air Mobility Command’s Director of Mobility Forces. General Bishop’s last assignment was as Commander, 3rd Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Airbase in Germany, where he oversaw all American air and space activities in 93 countries in Europe and Africa. He talked about the culture war and his battles in the fight. Full Bio
Lt. General
Michael Flynn,
US Army, ret
Lieutenant General, Michael T. Flynn, US Army retired, is a subject matter expert in Diplomacy, Statecraft, Foreign Policy, Strategy Formulation, Defense, Intelligence, and other areas of national and international security. He served more than 33 years in the Army, Joint, and Special Operations Forces, with multiple overseas combat tours. He is the author of 7 books, two are best sellers. He holds three master’s degrees, an honorary doctorate and currently serves as the Chairman of America’s Future, which is among the nation’s oldest non-profits. His military career culminated as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the nation’s highest serving military intelligence officer. Additionally, he served the 45th President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump, as the nation’s 25th National Security Advisor. He was appointed by President Trump in 2025 to be on the USMA Board of Visitors. See article: General Flynn Challenges DEI, Champions Warrior Ethos and Honor at West Point Board Meeting. General Flynn is the recipient of numerous military awards and decorations as well as law enforcement, intelligence community and several non-profit lifetime achievement awards. He is married, with two sons and several grandchildren. Watch Commanders Call video with Gen. Flynn
Maj. General
Joe Arbuckle,
US Army, ret
Maj. General Joe Arbuckle, USA (Ret.) leads the group “Flag Officers 4 America” and serves as the Vice Chairman of STARRS. Gen. Arbuckle graduated from college in 1968, and entered the Army in 1969 as a private. Following training as a combat engineer, he was later commissioned upon graduating from Engineer Officer Candidate School in 1970. Having volunteered for duty as an Infantry Officer, he served a year in Vietnam on Advisory Team 22, embedded with the South Vietnamese Army. He has commanded at every rank from Lieutenant to Major General, specializing in the missile field. During later years, he served in various capacities as an Army strategist and became an industrial base expert, playing a major role in the DoD “Revolution in Military Logistics” campaign. He was inducted into the Army OCS, Engineer, Ordnance and AMC Halls of Fame. General Arbuckle retired after 32 years of commissioned and enlisted service. He discussed the work of Flag Officers 4 America.
Doug Truax
USMA '92
Doug Truax is the volunteer, unpaid Founder and CEO of Restoration of America. A 1992 West Point graduate, he is passionate about seeing the prestigious institution restored to its former greatness and once again lead the U.S. military, the country and the world. Doug saw six years active duty in the U.S. Army, completed the nation’s most difficult leadership course, Ranger School, served as a platoon leader and aide to a general, leaving the service honorably as a Captain. He also attained the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist designation from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Doug is the author of the recent article “Until President Trump Fires Woke Leadership, West Point Will Never Get Back to Forging Warriors.” He has founded RestoretheMilitary.com to “…expose the bad actors bogging down the culture of America’s fighting forces with woke policies and corporatization, then work to reshape the military into the fighting force it needs to be….” As announced during an interview with Fox News, Doug has established a tip line for DoD employees to report DEI, ‘woke’ overreach. Doug resides in Florida with his wife of 32 years, Nicole. They have three grown children, one grandson, and another on the way!
Will Thibeau
Will Thibeau is a husband, father, and Army Ranger Veteran. Will deployed for combat to Iraq multiple times during his time on active duty with the 75th Ranger Regiment as a Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer. After leaving the military, Will worked in defense technology at Palantir. Since 2023, Will has served as the Director of the American Military Project at The Claremont Institute, where he guides activity focused on the institutional integrity of the military and a revived concept of civil-military relations in the 21st Century. Will has written numerous articles and reports concerning the negative effect CRT/DEI ideology/agenda has had on the US military. He is the author of the study “Identity in the Trenches: The Fatal Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on U.S. Military Readiness” available for purchase on Amazon. His latest article is “West Point Trades Real Reform For Illusory Paper Compliance“.
Tom Burbage
USNA '69
Capt. Tom Burbage, USN ret, USNA ’69, is the President of the Calvert Task Group (CTG), whose mission is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Navy and Marine Corps and the United States Naval Academy. Tom is one of the author of CTG’s book, “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP: Woke Politics Are Endangering Our Military and Our Nation.” Tom Burbage retired from the Lockheed Martin Corporation in April 2013. He was the President of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems Company and the Executive VP/GM for both the USAF F-22 Raptor and the multi-service, allied next generation fighter, the F-35. Prior to joining Lockheed, Mr. Burbage was a Naval Aviator, completing the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in 1975. He has accumulated more than 3,000 hours in 38 different types of military aircraft. As a reservist he retired as a Navy Captain in 1994. Mr. Burbage has received numerous industry awards, including the U.S. Naval Academy/Harvard Business Review Award for Ethical Leadership; the Aerospace Industry Personality of the Year; the Society of Automotive Engineers Leadership in Aerospace Award; the Donald C. Burnham Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers; the Silver Knight Award from the National Management Association; three Aviation Week Magazine Laurels Awards and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots James H Doolittle Award for outstanding accomplishment in technical management and engineering achievement in aerospace technology. He was elected an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in recognition of notable contributions to the arts, sciences and technology of aeronautics and astronautics. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in the United Kingdom. Mr. Burbage received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds master’s degrees in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida and Business Administration from UCLA. Tom and his wife, Ellen, reside in Alpharetta,
Ron Scott
USAFA '73
Col. Ron Scott, PhD, USAF (Ret.) is the President and CEO of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS). Ron is a 1973 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in the Air Force, including command at all levels from flight to wing, senior policy positions at a major command and at the Pentagon, combat as a command pilot with flight time in the OV-10, F-4E, and C-130E/H, and overseas assignments in Europe, Asia, and Southwest Asia. Ron has a master’s in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a PhD from Arizona State University. Ron discussed how Trump Administration efforts are impacting the STARRS vision for the future.
John Hughes
USMA '96
Former Army Lt. Colonel John Hughes, MD who discussed his new book, “West Point’s Cult of DEI.” John is a 3rd generation West Pointer, graduating #1 in his class from the Military Academy in 1996. He branched Infantry, successfully completed Airborne and Ranger training, and deployed to Haiti with the 82nd Airborne Division. Soon after, he attended USUHS medical school and became a Medical Corps officer (ER physician). He deployed to Iraq in 2005-06 with the 4th Infantry Division and to Afghanistan in 2007, 2008, and 2009 with 7th Special Forces Group. His last deployment was with a British field hospital in Helmand, Afghanistan in 2013. In 2015, he resigned his commission as a Lt. Colonel subsequently working in private sector emergency rooms. His first book was titled, American Doctor, Coming Home to War. He is the past president of the MacArthur Society. John will discuss his new second book, West Point’s Cult of DEI.
L. Todd Wood
USAFA '86
Scott McQuarrie
USMA '72
Bill Marshall
Ty McCoy
USMA '67
Amber Smith
This was a joint event with STARRS and the Calvert Task Group. Amber Smith is the former Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Outreach in Public Affairs. Amber is a former U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot and air mission commander in the 101st Airborne Division, and flew two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is also the author of the recent book, Unfit to Fight: How Woke Policies Are Destroying Our Military, a topic of great concern to all three organizations.
Ernie Audino
USMA '83
Brig. General Ernest Audino, USA ret, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1983 and retired from the Army in 2011. He served multiple assignments in armor, cavalry, infantry and Stryker units. Other key assignments include service as an Army Congressional Fellow in the US Senate, duty as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Director of Nuclear Support at the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. His last assignment was as the Deputy Director of Operations for Headquarters, US Army, in the Pentagon. He currently serves as District Director for U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz from Florida (who is a VMI grad). Biography
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