LEXINGTON, Va., Feb. 26, 2026—In February, Heaton Lawrence ’26, Regimental Chief of Staff, attended two conferences at Texas A&M, College Station. Lawrence participated in the Army War College’s prestigious International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE). Alongside graduate and undergraduate students from other colleges and universities, Lawrence engaged in diplomatic simulations and strategic planning. He was accompanied by Nathan Payne '26, Devin Auzenne '26, Gabe Thompson '26, and Michael Hatfield '26.

Lawrence also participated in Texas A&M’s Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA 71), hosted by the Bush School of Government and Public Service. He attended talks by senior leaders from the U.S. government and military. He also worked with teammates from other schools to write an argumentative essay about how to reform the U.S. State Department to promote America’s values in the most effective way possible. Lawrence’s team won the competition for best essay with their policy proposal, “Accords over Ammunition: A Strategic Reform Proposal for the U.S. Foreign Service.”

Col. Michelle Iten, Ph.D.
Professor - English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies
Photos courtesy of Heaton Lawrence ’26
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE