Rotary JOins Kiwanis with Gen. Wes Clark Providing a Candid Look at America's Path Forward
RCB President Nancy Goedecke and Kiwanis President Jon Saxon with Gen. Wes Clark
This week, the Rotary Club of Birmingham (RCB) joined the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham for a joint meeting with featured speaker Wes Clark, retired U.S. Army General. Gen. Clark commanded U.S. Southern Command and later served as Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, overseeing 109,000 troops across 89 countries and leading NATO's Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo war.
Gen. Clark focused discussed pressing challenges facing America, including an economy where wealth has concentrated at the top; a strategic landscape made more dangerous by Russia's war in Ukraine, China's military buildup, and North Korea's missile advances; and an erosion of trust in American institutions and in one another.
He cautioned that the war in Iran risks becoming an endless cycle , drawing a parallel to early escalation in Vietnam. He called for NATO to provide Ukraine with greater support, recounting his experience advising Kyiv since Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea.. He also stressed the importance of lawmakers establishing guardrails on artificial intelligence, warning that profit and competition are currently outpacing human control over the technology.
Gen. Clark argued that renewing democracy requires citizens who judge leaders by competence, character and commitment to the Constitution over partisan hostility. He tied that call directly to Birmingham's own history of courageous, community-driven progress.
Bio for Gen. Wes Clark
Wesley K. Clark is a businessman, educator, writer and commentator. General Clark serves as Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic consulting firm; Chairman and Founder of Enverra, Inc. a licensed investment bank; Chairman of Energy Security Partners, LLC; as well as numerous corporate boards. He is active in energy, including oil and gas, biofuels, electric power and batteries, finance, and security.
During his business career he has served as an advisor, consultant or board member of over ninety private and publicly traded companies. In the not-for-profit space, he is a Senior Fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations, Director of the Atlantic Council; Founding Chair of City Year Little Rock/North Little Rock, and Founder of Renew America Together. A best-selling author, General Clark has written four books and is a frequent contributor on TV and to newspapers.
Clark retired as a four star general after 38 years in the United States Army, having served in his last assignments as Commander of US Southern Command and then as Commander of US European Command/ Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He graduated first in his class at West Point and completed degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.) as a Rhodes scholar. While serving in Vietnam, he commanded an infantry company in combat, where he was severely wounded and evacuated home on a stretcher. He later commanded at the battalion, brigade and division level, and served in a number of significant staff positions, including service as the Director, Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5). He was the principal author of both the US National Military Strategy and Joint Vision 2010, prescribing US warfighting for full-spectrum dominance. He also worked with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke in the Dayton Peace Process, where he helped write and negotiate significant portions of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. In his final assignment as Supreme Allied Commander Europe he led NATO forces to victory in Operation Allied Force, a 78-day air campaign, backed by ground invasion planning and a diplomatic process, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing.
His awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (five awards), the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, as well as honorary knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments and numerous other international honors, including the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honor (France). He has also received the Department of State Distinguished Service Award, the 2024 West Point Distinguished Graduate Award, and numerous honorary doctorates and civilian distinctions.