1 LT (P) Evan Kowalski USMA ‘14

Since graduation, Lieutenant Kowalski has devoted nearly every free moment to the study of genocide and the Holocaust, which he believes “reaffirmed my decision to serve in the military and taught me to think critically and ethically in a complex environment.”  In addition to winning an Army Achievement Medal for organizing multiple Day of Remembrance activities for his units in Germany, Evan was the only non-Ph.D. or theologian selected to attend the 2016 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (USHMM) Faculty Seminar on Religion and Ethics.

Members of the 16th tour the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, December 2017

During the summer of 2017, he was the only non-graduate student and only American to participate in the Bergen-Belsen International Summer School, where he presented his undergraduate thesis research.  Yet his most substantial contribution was his recent design and execution of a three-month leader development program for the 16^th Special Troops ‘Vanguard’ Battalion (16^th STB), his logistics battalion in Germany.  In consultation with COL (R) Jody Prescott and Dr. David Frey, and in collaboration with the Auschwitz Jewish Center, Lieutenant Kowalski created an innovative program around the CHGS and USHMM’s 2014 publication “Ordinary Soldiers: A Study in Law, Ethics, and Leadership.”  1LT Kowalski used this case study of Wehrmacht participation in the mass killing of Jews as a means of discussing how leaders should respond to illegal orders, 1LT Kowalski’s program concluded with a four-day staff ride (military field study) to Krakow and Oswiecim (Auschwitz) Poland, ending in Nuremberg, Germany.  80 members of the 16^th STB participated in this trip, including the all of the battalion’s leadership.

The battalion’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Katz, remarked that he approved and participated in the staff ride in order to “capitalize on our proximity to recent historical events and offer our leadership a unique opportunity to grow and sharpen their skills in a way that will stick with them throughout their careers.”  1LT Matthew Solseth, a participant in the training, viewed the exercise as “an absolutely life-changing event.” “I will never forget this experience and the lessons I learned throughout.”  For more detail, please see the article published by the Army on 1LT Kowalski’s efforts.