Local colonel of Louisiana National Guard graduates with masters of Strategic Studies

Col. Larry Benton, Louisiana National Guard, graduated from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., with a master's degree in Strategic Studies on July 27, 2018.

"The educational highlight of this program for me was the understanding of critical thinking in Grand Strategy development," said Benton.

Col. Benton is a native of Haughton, La., currently resides in Alexandria, serving as the Director of Personnel and Manpower for the Louisiana National Guard.

Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, congratulated the class for their enormous personal commitment to the Army War College education that he characterized as, "arguably one of the best graduate programs in the country on political and military affairs."

The U.S. Army War College's 2-year distance education program develops senior military officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as senior foreign military officers and civilian officials from a variety of federal agencies, to serve in strategic level command and staff positions worldwide.