Hamilton College Prof. Named to Dept. of Defense Commission

A Hamilton College professor has been named to the Congressionally mandated commission on the naming of items in the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederate States of America.

Visiting Professor of History, Retired Brigadier General Ty Seidule was named to the commission by the Department of Defense on Friday. Seidule will join three other military experts, including Admiral Michelle Howard, U.S. Navy, retired; General Bob Neller, U.S. Marine Corps, retired; and Kori Schake, Director of Foreign & Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute.

The eight-person Commission is composed of four appointments by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, two appointments by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee, and two appointments by the Ranking Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

"Each of these individuals possesses unique and relevant experience, in and out of government, that I know will inform this important effort," said of Defense Lloyd Austin. "I am enormously grateful for their willingness to serve the nation again, and I thank them in advance for the wise counsel I am confident they will provide."

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 mandated the creation of the Commission on the Naming of Items of the U.S. Department of Defense That Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily With the Confederate States of America.

The NDAA tasked the Commission with gathering input from local communities, developing an implementation plan for renaming assets and removing symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that commemorate the Confederacy, and submitting it to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee by October 2022.  Per the law, the Secretary of Defense must implement the Commission’s plan no later than January 1, 2024.

Seidule, a leader in digital history, co-edited the award-winning West Point History of Warfare, the largest enhanced digital book in any field. He also led virtual and augmented reality student projects. His video lecture, “Was the Civil War About Slavery,” has 30 million views on social media. Seidule served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades, retiring in 2020 as a brigadier general. He is professor emeritus of history at West Point, where he taught for many years, and is also a New America Fellow. His latest book, Robert E. Lee and Me, will be published in 2021 by St. Martin’s Press. He is the author or editor of six other books, three of which won distinguished writing prizes.

His latest book, Robert E. Lee and Me, was recently published by St. Martin’s Press. He is the author or editor of six other books, three of which won distinguished writing prizes.

A leader in digital history, Seidule co-edited the award-winning West Point History of Warfare, the largest enhanced digital book in any field. He also led virtual and augmented reality student projects. His video lecture, “Was the Civil War About Slavery,” has 30 million views on social media. Seidule served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades, retiring in 2020 as a brigadier general. He is professor emeritus of history at West Point, where he taught for many years, and is also a New America Fellow. Seidule  graduated from Washington and Lee University and holds a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University.

I also thank the Congress for establishing this process, and I continue to pledge my personal commitment – and that of the Department – to making sure it succeeds.  I look forward to seeing the results of the commission’s work in the months ahead.

Brigadier General Seidule will join WIBX's Keeler Show on Monday morning during the 8 a.m. hour.