About the film

The True Cost of Defense

America's defense budget exceeds $800 billion, but the real cost goes deeper. The True Cost of Defense follows quadruple-amputee veteran Travis Mills, military recruiters, families on overseas bases, and communities shaped by global military commitments. It reveals defense's most profound price: the human one—lives forever changed by service and America's role in world affairs.

About the panelists

Jack Segal, Consul General ret.

Jack Segal is a retired senior U.S. diplomat who served his country at the White House and in challenging overseas posts including Russia, Israel/Palestine, and Afghanistan. Of his many accomplishments, he takes particular pride in being the primary author of the U.S.-USSR Agreement on Nuclear Risk Reduction, and on his work as a negotiator of the START nuclear arms control Treaty. With his wife Karen, they opened the first western diplomatic mission to the 40 million people of Central Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As a young man, Jack was commissioned through Infantry OCS and was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Vietnam with the 3 rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division during the Tet Offensive, and at the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters.

His military experience was life altering, both in terms of combat experience and in deciding to pursue an alternative intellectual path. He has been a voice of calm reason through his 35 years as a diplomat, in part because he witnessed the ravages of war.

Since Jack retired to Traverse City, he has become a popular teacher and speaker, addressing complicated subjects with perspective and humor. He has helped us better understand the human cost of war and to honor those who serve us in the military and in our diplomatic corps.

MajGen Mike Lehnert, USMC ret.

Major General Mike Lehnert is the co-chair of the International Affairs Forum Advisory Board. He retired from the Marine Corps after 37 years of service in 2010. During that time he held thirteen separate commands and participated in military operations in Panama, Kuwait and Iraq where he led 5,000 Marines and sailors during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. He ran the Cuban and Haitian migrant camps during Operation Sea Signal in Guantanamo and returned there in 2002 as the Joint Task Force Commander responsible for securing the detainees transferred from the Afghan conflict. In 2010 he was honored with the Peacemaker award by the National Conflict Resolution Center for his work defending human rights at the Guantanamo Detention Facility where his experience was documented in Karen Greenberg’s book, The Least Worst Place. He holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Maryland earned while he attended the Naval War College.

More panelist bios coming soon.