Richard M. Jennings

Richard M. Jennings is an author, Army officer and former President of Western Resorts International. He has been Assistant for NATO Affairs to the Secretary of Defense, and Professor of International Relations at the National War College. Now retired, he resides in Indian Wells, California where he has been President of the World Affairs Council of the Desert, the Stanford Club of the Desert, and the Palm Springs Chapter, Military Officers Association of America.

Education
He attended Stanford, Arizona State, and Georgetown University (MA and Ph.D. in Government/International Relations). Additionally, he is a graduate of the German General Staff College, US Army War College, and the US National War College.

Military career
As an Army paratroop officer, he fought in the Korean War as an artillery observer and battery commander and American Aide to the Chief of Staff, Republic of Korea Army. He served on the German border during the Berlin Blockade, Hungarian Revolution, and Berlin Wall crises. During two tours in Vietnam, he led a battalion of the first Air Cavalry and a brigade of the 9th Infantry Division 9th Division (South Vietnam).

He served on the US Army General Staff in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa Division. After his Vietnam experience, he was named Assistant for NATO Affairs to the Secretary of Defense. Subsequently, he became Professor of International Relations at the National War College (National Defense University) where he published his works, including "The U.S/Soviet Arms Competition" and "The Future National Security Problem."

Post-military career
Based in Aspen, he became Vice President of Preferred Resorts International and then, President of Western Resorts International. He supervised the completion of developments near Aspen and participated in resort hotel deals in Santa Fe and Sedona. Additionally, he became the Chairman of the Board of the Arts Center in Aspen/Snowmass (Anderson Ranch) and member of the National Council for the Aspen Community Theater.

Publications
Since 1961, Jennings has written a number of articles in reputable publications. He published important articles in "Artillery Trends" Field Artillery (magazine) of the U.S. Army Artillery and Missile School as well as in Military Review, the high-level journal of the US Army. As a faculty leader at the National War College he provided his insight on various topics such as the US/Soviet Arms Competition, the Tripolar Arms Race, and the Strategic Future of the United States, in publications produced by the college.

He fell into disfavor with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff when he maintained that Soviet forces were not as powerful as claimed, over ten years before this was realized by most of "the US Establishment". Shortly after his retirement from the military he published his article "The Military and Social Adaptation," which served as a guideline for the Army in its late 20th Century role.

Personal
Jennings married Nini Bjonness in Oslo, Norway in 1964 while he was attending the German General Staff College in Hamburg. The 22-year marriage produced three daughters: Lynn, Stephanie, and Jan.

Thesis

 * U.S./Soviet arms competition, 1945–1972 : aspects of its nature, control, and results, Ph.DThesis, Georgetown Univ. 1975.

Articles

 * Part II – The Jungle – Special Warfare, Artillery Trends Field Artillery (magazine), August 1961: 22–30
 * Artillery Tactics of the New Divisions, Artillery Trends Field Artillery (magazine), July 1962: 9–24
 * Artillery of the Federal German Army, Artillery Trends Field Artillery (magazine), December 1964: 38–50
 * The Thrust of the Nixon Doctrine, Military Review 52.2 February 1972: 3–9
 * Another View on the Need for Change, Military Review 52.9, September 1972: 82–94
 * Running the Qualitative Race (And Not Losing), Military Review 55.10, October 1975: 58–68
 * The US/Soviet Arms Competition: Quantitative/Qualitative Aspects, Strategic Review Group National War College, July 1, 1974
 * The Future National Security Problem, The National Security Affairs Forum, Washington, D.C, Fall 1974: 9–27
 * The Tripolar Arms Race, Strategic Review Group National War College, November 14, 1974
 * The Dilemma of Military Appraisal, Strategic Review Group National War College, December 30, 1975
 * Can the Military Balance Be Balanced? – Improving Military Estimates, Strategic Review Group National War College,
 * The Military and Social Adaptation, Strategic Review, Washington, D.C, Winter 1976 : 72–78