On September 20, 2023, RFI President Eric Patterson was honored to give the “Joseph A. Reich, Sr., Distinguished Lecture on War, Morality and the Military Profession” at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). The Reich Lecture is intended to complement a required ethics course at the Academy and to support its emphasis on applied ethics and character.

Patterson has a long career of serving military audiences, from academy students to military chaplains, with presentations and resources on faith while serving, overcoming ethical challenges, and understanding the moral underpinnings of the profession of arms. Before delivering his Reich lecture to 600 cadets and faculty, including the Reich faculty, Patterson participated in a faculty workshop based on one of his books. Patterson served in the Air National Guard for over 24 years, retiring in 2021 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His academic interest has long been in the intersection of religion, religious liberty, and national security, such as understanding the religious dynamics of security and peace, and the way that religious freedom lowers social tensions and decreases the resort to terrorism.

Watch Patterson’s remarks: