ABOUT

The NSSP was established at Georgetown University in 1977.

About the NSSP and Me! by Gregg Hilton
The “DC World Affairs Blog” was created for my students in the National Security Studies Program (NSSP), which for 30 years was an important part of my life. Unfortunately, the course and my NSSP years are over but I have wonderful memories, a sense of accomplishment, and I am grateful to so many people who made it possible.
The title of my course was “The United States in World Affairs.” I tried to cover a broad range of foreign policy, defense and international economic issues every semester.
I emphasized how the post-Cold War global order was dramatically changing and threats I described from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and radical Islamists are far worse today.
I also focused on the importance of military modernization and readiness, and the danger of growing American isolationism. Students had to be well informed of current events and class participation was a significant part of the final grade.
In the early years my role was primarily focused on administrative matters but I was also part of the faculty and conducted an NSSP class. I was still a student when I attended my first weekend seminar.
The National Security Studies Program began in March of 1977 when Georgetown University and the non-profit American Security Council established a course under that banner.
At the same time the 843-acre ASC Foundation property near Culpeper, Virginia became an off-campus center for Georgetown, and the university emblem was displayed at the entrance of the estate which was then known as the Congressional Conference Center. It had large residential buildings (see photos) and over 30 bedrooms. The conference center was easily able to accommodate over 60 overnight guests double occupancy.
Well over one hundred members of the U.S. House and Senate participated in our seminars and we also hosted retreats where all participants were lawmakers or their spouses. The property is now known as the Longlea Conference Center and the appearance hasn’t changed.
When the NSSP began, a master’s degree program in International Security Affairs was jointly conducted by Georgetown University and the Department of Defense, with the assistance of the ASC Foundation. ASCF donated over $1 million to the program, and I closely coordinated activities with Dr. Stephen Gibert of Georgetown, the NSSP Director and Founder.
I frequently visited the DC campus and Dr. Gibert’s guidance was essential. He helped me is so many ways, but I never worked for Georgetown University.
After the first seven years ASC took over the sponsorship of its own NSSP program in 1984 which was completely separate from the university, but we both continued to use the NSSP name. ASC and ASCF had over 300,000 dues paying members in those days and they recruited NSSP and National Security Leadership Seminar participants through direct marketing.
After the 1984 Spring semester, I served as both the ASC Executive Director and the NSSP Director. The Georgetown program was renamed the Center for Security Studies in 2000, and the people I knew best departed. https://css.georgetown.edu/
In those days the GOP was closely identified with Ronald Reagan’s Peace Through Strength agenda which included the historic strategic and conventional modernization program and assistance to democratic liberation movements. Reagan is still an admired figure but about half of House Republicans can now be described as isolationists and they voted against military assistance to Ukraine.
The American Security Council staff drafted “Guidelines for Cold War Victory” and the Peace Through Strength Resolution which was co-sponsored by 211 Members of Congress. Their “National Strategy for Peace Through Strength” was largely incorporated into Reagan’s official 1987 National Security Strategy. In addition to the conference center, ASC had two magnificent Capitol Hill properties in that era. They had 20,000 square feet of office space at 499 South Capitol Street which had magnificent views of the U.S. Capitol and the House Office Buildings.
This included a very large classroom/boardroom which was frequently used for Congressional events related to national security issues. They also had a complex at 1239 Pennsylvania Avenue of three interconnected townhouses which was able to accommodate over 20 residential students and a large classroom. It closed in 2008 and ASC ceased to exist as a separate organization and merged with the ASC Foundation.
ASCF is still active and publishes a wide variety of educational materials and podcasts. When they re-located to Florida, I continued the same course curriculum for student interns.
About Me 
I erased many old posts because they were related to long ago classroom assignments. A number of those tasks concerned issues addressed by the U.S. Congress and are still relevant classroom discussion topics.
Many faculty members will never express a personal opinion, and in a number of institutions a discussion of personal political preferences is banned. I understand the reasoning behind this. However, I have a different outlook.  I never try to convince students to my viewpoint, but I do foster a vibrant discussion.
I want students to think for themselves, and that is why I challenge them on a regular basis.  I often play the devil’s advocate in class and advocate positions I know will be controversial. This often happens during our group discussion on Tuesday afternoons.
I was surprised some students found it difficult to follow and participate in discussions of current events.   It was student anxiety which prompted me to start this blog in the first place.  A student will always know if a specific article or analysis paper has been selected for discussion, and in the information age it is essential for students to follow the news.
I strongly encourage students to read a daily newspaper such as The Washington Post, The Washington Times or The New York Times because they provide in-depth coverage of foreign policy and national security issues. Other excellent sources are the bookmarks on the right hand side of this page. I have a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from my career. I have written five book length policy papers and I have produced and or directed seven TV documentaries.
I have many fond memories of my old job, but I rarely had a free weekend, and working late at night was often expected. Through various non-profit organizations I have had an opportunity to work closely with House and Senate lawmakers in both parties. I sincerely admire the dedicated men and women who are serving in the U.S. Congress, and I regret the intense partisanship on Capitol Hill. Unfortunately, I do not expect this to change in the near future. I am a conservative Republican, but I am an American first. I want my political party to win but my top priority is making sure our nation succeeds.
I am always interested in listening to both sides of a debate, and this may explain my attachment to C-SPAN. No party or individual has a monopoly on being correct all of the time. I believe if we listen better, we can all learn a great deal from each other. I have traveled extensively for either pleasure or business. My favorite adventures have been peacekeeping operations in west Africa and an extensive trip through much of China. I lived in the Philippines for six months during the Marcos investigation, and I just returned from two weeks in Japan. I will never do it, but I have often thought of living in Asia. A synopsis of my career is as follows:
POLITICAL —
I previously served as Executive Director of the Conservative Victory Fund; Director of Public Affairs for the National Republican Congressional Committee; and as the Republican National Committee’s liaison to the White House Political Affairs Office during the Reagan Administration. I also wrote a full page political column for the conservative weekly Human Events, and a front page article in the Washington Post described me as one of the eight leading activists in the New Right.
NON-PROFIT –
I was part of a team which raised over $100 million for non-profit organizations. For 23 years I was Executive Director of the American Security Council (ASC), which at one point had a membership of 312,000. ASC was best known for the slogan “Peace Through Strength” and the organization deserves tremendous credit for fostering the strategic and conventional modernization program of the 1980’s and a foreign policy of freedom. I am still actively involved in helping charities and was pleased to be part of the effort to raise almost $5 million for the “20th and Final Best Buddies Ball.”
ACADEMIC –
My best memories of ASC involve numerous trips abroad, our scholarly journal, and the master’s degree level National Security Studies Program which was established at Georgetown University in 1969. ASC’s Congressional Conference Center in northern Virginia was an off-campus center for Georgetown, and we were able to accommodate 60 overnight guests.
ASC’s National Security Leadership Seminars were held on weekends, and for residential interns I taught one course a semester. This program included a variety of academic courses and interaction with policy makers. The key to its success is that it combines academics with valuable work experience. I have written seven book length policy papers and the covers are posted in my gallery. I have many fond memories of my old job, but it was hard work.
BUSINESS –
The firm I am now with is based in San Francisco and offers seed-stage venture capital and professional management support to high-tech, start-up companies. The primary focus is the Silicon Valley and we take companies from start ups to stand outs. Private equity firms have pumped billions into a variety of fledgling companies, but the economic downturn which began in 2008 has caused many of them to go out of business. Needless to say, these are challenging times and the capital markets have been changing significantly.
VIEWPOINT –
This website is political and I am obviously a conservative Republican. I am not a libertarian, paleoconservative, isolationist or protectionist, and even though many of my friends on both sides cringe, I do miss George W. Bush. It is not unusual in Washington, D.C. to have good friends in both parties, and I am grateful to my liberal friends for being so tolerant of my conservative views. My best characteristics are listening and trying to see things from another persons point of view.