Nebraska has surprisingly large role on the global stage
Between NSRI and StratCom, Nebraska has quite a lot to do with the Russia-Ukraine crisis
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The University of Nebraska is able to wrangle up a lot of expertise to be a part of the National Strategic Research Institute, which is a very well-respected and elite organization.
“We have a variety of sponsors we work with throughout the Department of Defense and the broader US government”, explains NSRI Executive Director Rick Evans. Evans served for years in the United States Air Force, retiring with the rank of major general. He goes on to say these sponsors oftentimes “ask for expertise, academic talent, to be applied to offering options and, potentially, solutions to very challenging situations.”
As the situation in Ukraine unfolds, one thing NSRI is watching is just what Vladimir Putin does.
“We are concerned that he might be slightly closer to theater nuclear employment than we would be comfortable with”, says Dr. Christopher Yeaw. “Honestly, anything above an exceedingly low likelihood is uncomfortably high.”
“Theater nuclear employment” sounds bad, and it certainly isn’t good. However, it’s different than the city-flattening blasts you may be thinking of. Theater nuclear weapons are a much smaller type of weapon. One would be used to destroy a building, rather than a city, for example. Clearly, this is still something we don’t want Russia to do.
Dr. Yeaw has spent a lifetime studying nuclear issues and certainly knows his stuff. He says it’s important to recognize that America isn’t in any immediate danger, partially due to the work done at Omaha’s Offutt Air Force Base.
“The good men and women of StratCom operate those forces every single day to ensure that strategic deterrence holds firm”, he says.
The whole point of strategic deterrence is to show that any attack against the United States or our allies would be a very bad idea. We’re able to send that message, in part, through shows of force, and that mission has been assigned to StratCom. It’s considered to be among the most important to our nation’s security.
“The fact that it’s based right here in Nebraska, it’s pretty cool”, says Gen. Evans, who spent a number of years with StratCom, “The prominence of StratCom in that regard, in anything that goes on across the world, is something that we can really be proud of here in the state.”
Even though it can be difficult to predict just what’s going to happen in war, it’s good to know that we’ve got some people here who have a pretty good idea of what to expect. All told, Nebraska plays a number of big roles on the global stage, even if we don’t see it every day.
