LEXINGTON, Va. Sept. 3, 2025 — Virginia Military Institute welcomes guest speaker, retired U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Christopher C. Spence — part of the first wave of American forces on the ground in Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks 24 years ago — in Gillis Theater in Marshall Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 10. at 8 p.m. His talk, sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Ethics, is free and open to the public.

Spence took the first photographs of American Special Forces on horseback in Afghanistan, which former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used to show the world, proving U.S. presence there. One close-up photograph Spence took of a Horse Soldier is currently on display in the Smithsonian Institution and served as the template for America’s Response Monument, the bronze statue in Liberty Park overlooking the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Spence served 25 years in the Army, 17 of which were exclusively in the Special Forces. During his time with the 5^th Special Forces Group, he deployed throughout the Middle East numerous times, completing three combat tours in Iraq. Since 2012, he has volunteered as program director for the 5^th Special Forces Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit organization providing merit-based scholarships to the children of current and former Special Forces soldiers.  

For more information, contact Lt. Col. Kim Connolly.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE