Notes from the Field
RECAP: 2024 Norwich University Military Writers' Symposium
We are honored to have welcomed subject matter experts, those currently serving in the field, and some of the world’s leading military writers at Norwich University's recent Military Writers' Symposium, "Perception Wars: The Battle to Control Reality".
LTG Laura Potter, 58th Director of the US Army Staff, was the keynote speaker to begin the 30th annual Military Writers’ Symposium.
Within the impressive group of speakers and panelists, a myriad of fields and areas of study were represented. The rich diversity was crucial during the two-day event, further emphasizing the importance of multifaceted skills and backgrounds in addressing the growing challenge of Information Warfare.
Norwich University has already begun tackling challenges addressed during the Symposium and LTG Potter's keynote address. The Senator Patrick Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing provides our students with a cutting-edge education and access to experiential learning, playing a crucial role in our ability to stay abreast of the field.
To read the formal recap, click this link.
Dear Class of 2025,
When I reflect on the 30th anniversary of the Military Writers’ Symposium, I want to celebrate the intellect of our speakers, but my first reaction to all I learned is fear. Norwich students, I worry about you and your future. I’m not the only one concerned. President Broadmeadow opened this year’s conference by saying that information warfare is “the most pressing threat to global peace.” Lieutenant General Potter added, “Information warfare is the greatest threat to our national security and our way of life.”
Information warfare threats are not based in the future, even if the associated terms sound more science fiction than reality. Consider troll farms, deep fakes, cyber-attacks, automated weapons systems, synthetic data, quantum computing, virtual avatars, and malware. Norwich students, you do not have the liberty of thinking of information wars as something to worry about after graduation. This war is like Vermont’s October gray. It surrounds us. Its mist falls upon us.
These threats are not theoretical. They do not exist out in the ether. They exist here, and they affect, as Dr. Lilly told us, “Every member of our society, whether you work for the military or are a civilian” because “social media brings the battlefields to our homes.” Nina Jankowicz told us, “The real danger is the speed and scale that disinformation can travel today.”
While Dr. Lilly reminded us that “Information warfare is not new,” Dr. Zorri told us, "America is still working on defining the problem.” That terrifies me.
I come from a generation that Dr. Papacharissi spoke about last night. When she began researching the internet in the 1990s, only 5% of Americans used it. Nina Jankowicz added that during those days, “We had one giant megaphone, and that was the nightly news.” Today, 97% of Americans use the internet, and we might get our news from any of the following news sites, all of which are in the top fifty most visited. Maybe we scroll CNN, the New York Times, Fox News, or the BBC. Or we flip through the Drudge Report, the Daily Dot, the Daily Beast, KSL, Patch, the Cool Down, and Raw Story. Until writing their names, I had never heard of those seven, which, again, are in the top-fifty most-visited American news sources. I have no idea if they are good, bad, or neutral, but I know they have megaphones.
I remember the first time I knowingly was targeted with disinformation. During the 2016 presidential election, while scrolling Facebook, I noticed a spike in radical political ideology. Many of these social media avatars aggressively tried to persuade me about the election. Eight years ago, the idea of international interference with our political processes seemed science fiction. Today, sadly, we call it reality.
Like me, every one of you has experienced information warfare. We deal with it whenever we scroll on our phones. And because of this, this year’s symposium title, “Perception Wars: The Battle to Control Reality,” is accurately and terrifyingly titled. As Nina Jankowicz said, “We all are on the front lines of the information war.” Dr. Morris added, “All of us are susceptible.”
What are we susceptible to? Dr. Lilly said that information warfare revolves around “massive psychological manipulation of the American population to destabilize the American state while undermining our political, economic, and social systems.” As Colonel Roberts said, our adversaries work to ruin America by “hacking you rather than just hacking your computers.”
All of that is why I fear. But we must not look only into fear. We must look to solutions, to hope, to tomorrow’s sunrise. Where do we go from here? Colonel Boyd, a 1984 Norwich alum, said we need the “whole-of-government and the whole-of-nation involved,” That whole includes you, our Norwich students, because as Colonel Roberts told us, “these issues we are talking about you will be facing, and you will be leading the nation through.” Colonel Nelson mentioned that every Norwich student has a role in combating information wars, how America needs students with social sciences, global languages, and English majors, along with students majoring in cybersecurity and STEM majors.
One of the most powerful parts of this year’s symposium was when multiple presenters highlighted how Norwich offers a way forward. Colonel Nelson mentioned, "Norwich students are on the cusp of something great because Norwich thinks differently about this problem than other universities.” Dr. Morris reminded us, "Our nation’s future leaders are the students in this room.” Looking across this vast armory, I see future leaders created here at Norwich from this year’s symposium. Andrii, Isabella, Jenna, Rodian, Sophia, and so many other students like them will alter these information wars in our favor. Colonel Boyd talked about how he can always tell “who in the room is a Norwich grad,” and he immediately knows he “can count on those Norwich men and women.”
How are we to combat these disinformation campaigns? More honestly, how do you, our next generation, combat them? First, we must remember Lieutenant General Potter’s clarion call when she said, “It is a lie that we are prepared to address these perception wars.” You, our future Norwich graduates, must change that.
To end my letter to you, the graduating class of 2025, I offer final quotes from our distinguished guests. To save time, I invoke Chatham House Rules, which means I will share quotes without revealing who said what. This is your to-do list while at Norwich and after graduation. Your instructions from our distinguished speakers are as follows:
· Build up information literacy;
· Focus on critical thinking;
· Remember the human behind the screen;
· Find common ground and practice civility;
· Know your enemy and know yourself;
· Be true to yourself;
· Participate actively in your learning;
· Become a leader in information warfare, and take that knowledge overseas to help our allies;
· Go on the offensive;
· Stay the course and remain committed;
· Everyone of us needs to pitch in;
· Fight disinformation with the truth.
I ask you now to go outside on this October night and study our sky. Look for satellites arcing across. As you see those minor streams of light breaking into beautiful darkness, remember to follow Nina Jankowicz's final advice. She told us to “Go touch grass.” By that, Jankowicz meant that we must focus on what is real. The truth is out there. Tonight, bend over and touch the truth. It is dewy and soft and beautiful. Never forget that feeling of something true and alive. Use that as your guide as you enter this stunning October night.
Thank you,
Professor Sean Prentiss
Sean Prentiss teaches creative, sports, environmental, and professional writing at Norwich. His books include "Finding Abbey: A Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave," which won the 2015 National Outdoor Book Award, the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and the Utah Book Award. Sean also wrote "Crosscut: Poems," a memoir-in-poems about his time as a trail builder in the Pacific Northwest.
In addition, Sean co-authored "Environmental and Nature Writing: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology and Advanced Creative Nonfiction," " The Science of Story: The Brain Behind Creative Nonfiction," and " The Far Edges of the Fourth Genre: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction." He also edits for the Bloomsbury Publishing Writer’s Guide and Anthology series. Sean lives with his family on a small lake in northern Vermont and they also have a hand-built cabin in the mountains of Colorado.
2024 Richard S. Schultz ‘60 Symposium Fellows
Lucia Frezza, Class of 2024
Lucia Frezza is a Senior from Wintersville, Ohio studying Computer Security and Information Assurance with a concentration in Digital Forensics and a minor in German. As a CyFER fellow, and a member of the CLDP, Lucia is very involved on campus with cybersecurity events, outreach and research. Her research focused on the threat profile of cyber actors and how they use perceptions is a gateway into the minds of independent cyber threat actors. In her spare time, her hobbies include rock climbing, horseback riding and drinking coffee.
Lilian Lu, Class of 2026 (Bachelors), 2027 (Masters)
Lilian Lu is a Junior from Tucson, AZ, pursuing studies in the 4+1 Accelerated Master's Program in Computer Security and Information Assurance with a concentration in Digital Forensics. She is also minoring in Chinese, Information Warfare, and History in Naval Studies. On campus, Lilian is actively involved in several activities, including the Corps of Cadets, CDLP, Women's Rugby, and the Norwich Guidon (campus newsletter). She is currently working towards an Army Intelligence contract with aspirations to serve in a three-letter agency. Through the Schultz Fellowship, Lilian hopes to analyze the ethical implications through real-time news outlets through open-source intelligence on "the Gospel," AI targeting technology in the current Israel-Gaza conflict.
The Richard S. Schultz ’60 Symposium Fellowship was established in 2017 as an endowed fund in honor of “Dick” by his wife of fifty years, Myrna L. Schultz, their children, Marni and Alan, and his classmates and friends.
Meet the Authors Dinner - Sophia Righthouse
Good evening, everyone. My name is Sophia Righthouse, and I am Fellow with the Peace and War Center and the Norwich Humanities Initiative. One of my favorite times of the year is the Military Writers Symposium, because of the intricate discussions it sparks about topics that I’ve often been interested in myself. Being a Political Science and English major, these few days are like Disneyland for me as I make it a point to attend as many panels as physically possible and talk to every guest in sight. This year, the insights shared during these past two days have been nothing short of eye-opening, and I’d like to talk a little about what I’ve taken away.
Two days ago, this was just my phone—full of pictures, contacts, and of course, the typical apps we all use like Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook. But now, this device has transformed into something much more to me. As Dr. Lilly put it last night at the panel, “Social media has brought the battlefield to our phones.” In an awestruck moment, I realized she couldn’t be more correct. This phone, like yours, is a tool of modern warfare. Today’s wars are no longer fought solely with tanks, jets, or guns—they are fought with narratives, and the battlefield is in our pockets. It’s in our minds. Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, are not the only citizens who have a first hand impact on protecting the United States from foreign adversaries. Each of us, knowingly or unknowingly, is engaged in this fight, tasked with the defense of truth in an era of disinformation.
Lieutenant General Broadmeadow opened the symposium Monday morning with a powerful reminder: "The nature of warfare does not change." While we may not be fighting with weapons of war in this information age, this information conflict around the globe, affecting every country, is very real. Now, it’s being waged with tweets, memes, gifs, and online narratives. What’s even more dangerous is that this isn’t the blatant propaganda we learned about in high school history classes. Today, the disinformation being plastered across the internet is subtle, it’s convincing. Designed to confuse, destabilize, and ultimately manipulate perception. We are far from ready to confront it.
“All battles are first won or lost in the mind,” said Lieutenant General Potter, quoting Joan of Arc. And in perception wars, this couldn’t be more relevant. We are constantly being influenced, fed narratives by algorithms that reinforce lies that have been implanted a long time ago, instilling in us what we already believe to be true. This isn’t just a societal issue, this isn’t just a mocking meme of the President of the United States or another joke about a Congress member—it’s a threat to our national security.
Russia has weaponized this concept brilliantly, weaving disinformation into the fabric of its military, media, and political strategies. As Ms. Nina Jankowicz explained in the panel Data to Defense, Russia isn’t just spreading propaganda anymore; they’re mastermining the ability to confuse. They release so many versions of “reality” that the truth becomes almost impossible to discern. This isn’t just incidental—this is warfare.
Their disinformation campaigns are designed to sabotage, erode trust, and control the narrative before the truth even has a chance to surface.
We’ve seen this in Ukraine. The battle isn’t only being fought with tanks and soldiers, its psychological effects are demonstrated across social media and are reaching as far as the United States. Russia aimed to demoralize the Ukrainian people, undermine their government, and shape how the world saw the conflict. In the upcoming 2024 U.S. elections, like many of the panelists pointed out, we are already seeing the use of “doppelganger” networks, disinformation designed to fracture the limited trust we already have in our democratic process. These tactics aren’t just in Russia’s playbook anymore, they’re seeping into China and Iran tactics now. Like Ms. Jankowicz said, they’re throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. They don’t care what lies they’re spreading or whose toes they’re stepping on. They only need one lie to resonate with a population. And while they profit from our confusion, we remain underprepared, trying to defend attack after attack after attack.
So, how do we combat this? First of all, it starts by recognizing the severity of the problem. This is not just a cyber issue—it’s a mental one. We need stronger cyber defenses, yes, but we also need to build resilience in our minds. Countries have already built up a resiliency against these styles of attacks, but the United States didn’t recognize these attacks until it was too late. Nonetheless, we must start somewhere. We must learn to think critically, question the information we consume, and remain vigilant to the biases that drive us. As Lieutenant General Potter stressed, we must treat disinformation as a real, tangible threat—because a tweet, a viral meme, or a well-placed piece of misinformation can cause as much damage as a bullet or a bomb.
In seven months, I will become a commissioned officer in the United States Army. The lessons I’ve learned during this symposium are not just academic—they are personal. As I step into a role of leadership, I will be responsible not just for the physical safety of those under my command, but for safeguarding the truth of the country I am defending, in an age where information is a mass casualty weapon. The wars of tomorrow will not be fought solely on distant battlefields—they will be fought in the mind, on our screens, in the stories we tell ourselves and others. I stand here today not just as a future officer, but as someone who is prepared to confront this challenge head-on, to fight in this war of perception, and to ensure that the truth prevails.
And as we leave here tonight, I urge each of you to consider this: the battle for truth is a collective one. We must all be warriors of the mind, defenders of facts, and challengers of false narratives. Because in this new age of warfare, it won’t be the side with the most weapons that wins—it will be the side that can control the narrative.