EastWest Institute’s General James Jones Military Internship Program commenced last week with the arrival of Cadet First Class Jeffrey McKnight (USAFA 2017). Cadet McKnight will support the institute’s Strategic Trust-Building program toward the establishment of a military-to-military dialogue between retired generals from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The dialogue is designed to break down barriers between Afghanistan and Pakistan while exploring confidence building measures across both militaries. Over a span of three years, a series of substantive analysis and discussions will facilitate the formulation of concrete policy recommendations that will be shared with the political leadership in both Kabul and Islamabad.

Cadet McKnight is assessing ongoing events in the region and exploring their possible effects to inform an agenda for the planned discussions.

Cadet McKnight’s internship will convene with a presentation of the project proposal to former Air Force Chief-of-Staff and EastWest Institute board member, Gen. (ret.) T. Michael Moseley.  

In this picture, EastWest Institute’s COO Dr. William Parker (USAFA ’88) and Air Force Academy C1C Jeffrey McKnight (right) examine the current Afghanistan-Pakistan relations as part of the institute’s military internship program.

The James Jones Military Internship affords military cadets the opportunity to engage with experts and academics in a non- governmental setting while providing meaningful contributions toward EWI’s goal of “building trust and delivering solutions to  international conflicts”.    

 The internship is named for General James Jones (USMC ret.), an EastWest Institute board member, whose decorated military  career includes having served as 32nd commandant of the Marine Corps, national security adviser to President Barack Obama,  and the Department of State’s special envoy for Middle East security. Please see full bio.