Apr 24, 2018
Bing West- Author
The Current State of Foreign Policy and National Security

The Honorable Francis J. Bing West served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. A graduate of Georgetown and Princeton Universities, he served in Vietnam with Marine Force Recon and Combined Action Platoons. He is the author of ten books on national security. These include The Village, that has been on the Marine Commandant’s Reading List for 40 years; New York Times Bestseller The Strongest Tribe, a history of the Iraq War; No True Glory: the Battle for Fallujah; The Wrong War, a History of the Afghanistan War; and Into the Fire, also a New York Times Bestseller and One Million Steps: A Marine Platoon at War. With retired Marine General James N. Mattis, he wrote the forthcoming book, No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy. His articles appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Infantry Order of St. Crispin, West is the recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Colby Military History Award, the Marine Corps Heritage Award (twice), the Goodpaster Prize for Military Scholarship, the Father Clyde E. Leonard Award, the Free Press Award, the Marine Corps Correspondents’ Distinguished Performance Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ National Media Award, and the Marine Corps Russell Award for Leadership. He and his wife Betsy reside in Newport, RI and Hilton Head, SC.