Film Screening of "RESTREPO" and the Way Forward in Afghanistan

Film Screening of "RESTREPO" and the Way Forward in Afghanistan

Wednesday, June 29th

Moderator:     Robert Zarate
                         Foreign Policy Initiative
 
Panelists:        Sergio Rodriguera, Jr.
                         U.S. Navy Reserves & Sphere Consulting
 
                         Matt Thompson
                         Former U.S. Army Rangers & TroopSwap
 

   Photographs:

RESTREPO (trailer) is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, "Restrepo," named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley and there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop.

Speaker Biographies

Sergio Rodriguera, Jr. is senior vice president at Sphere Consulting LLC, an international advisory and public affairs firm. In his role at Sphere, he manages clients in the financial and defense industries on regulatory issues, policy and branding. In June 2009, he was recalled to active duty to serve as a Naval Intelligence officer in Afghanistan. He served until May 2010 as executive officer of the Afghanistan Threat Finance Cell. Prior to his role in the private sector, he was policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict at the Pentagon. From 2005 to 2007, he was special advisor to the under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of Treasury, where he led outreach efforts on anti-terrorist finance and financial crimes. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He currently holds the rank of lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves.

Matt Thompson joined the U.S. Army on his 17th birth­day and sub­se­quently served four com­bat deploy­ments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a mem­ber of the elite Army Rangers and the 101st Air­borne Divi­sion. From 2002 until 2004, Captain Thompson served in Iraq as a platoon leader. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valorous leadership in combat during the seizure of the Al Hindiyah Terrorist Training Camp and for leading the first American ground forces into terrorist strongholds of An Najaf and Fallujah. From 2004 to 2006, he served in Afghanistan as the executive officer of a U.S. Army Ranger company. His civil­ian expe­ri­ence includes employ­ment with McK­in­sey & Com­pany, Gold­man Sachs, and his current role as COO and Co-Founder of troopswap.com, which provides exclusive deals for military consumers, sustainable employment opportunities for military spouses, and funding for the Wounded Warrior Project. Captain Thompson also sits on the board of the United States Veterans Initiative. He received his under­grad­u­ate degree in Civil Engi­neer­ing from the Vir­ginia Mil­i­tary Insti­tute, where he grad­u­ated with the school’s top honor for lead­er­ship as the Cadet First Cap­tain. Mr. Thompson earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Har­vard Busi­ness School.

Robert Zarate is a policy analyst at the Foreign Policy Initiative. Prior to joining FPI, Mr. Zarate served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative assistant for Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, and earlier as a legislative fellow on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. Before serving on the Hill, he worked as a research fellow at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC), as an independent consultant on nuclear issues, as a reporter at Wired News, and as a policy analyst at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, D.C. Mr. Zarate co-edited Nuclear Heuristics: Selected Writings of Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter. He has also published essays and articles in The Weekly Standard, National Review Online, E-Commerce Law Week and other periodicals. Mr. Zarate received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago.  He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, U.K.