|
January 24, 2003
Contact:
Tom Davis
Troy Office of University Relations
334/670-3196
tomdavis@troy.edu
Office of University Relations
253 Adams Administration
Troy, AL 36082
(334) 670-3196
(334) 670-3274 (fax)
| TROY
STATE UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS PRESS RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 1-334-670-3196 |
| TSU
Professor explores Latin American security in new book Troy State University professor Dr. Russell W. Ramsey has drawn on his 45 years of professional experience teaching and consulting with the armed forces and police departments of Latin America to write a book of essays on the topic. Set to be released in the spring by 1stBooks Library publishing, "Essays on Latin American Security; the Collected Writings of a Scholar-Implementer" is the veteran author’s 11th nonfiction book. A Spanish edition of "Essays," containing 60 percent of the essays featured in the American version, will be released at the same time. Dr. Ramsey traces the evolution of the countries’ armed forces from "praetorian guards" into "modern professionals obedient to constitutional democracy." In doing so, he explores various military philosophies and policies, including guerilla warfare, using the country of Colombia as a case model. The book also examines the effects of European influence and doctrine on Latin America and contains essays discussing America’s training of Latin American security forces. Dr. Ramsey has notable experience with his topic. Chosen in 1960 to serve as the pilot project officer for a counterinsurgency-training program, he organized and designed a Spanish version of the program for U.S. Army troops serving in the Canal Zone. He later served as a faculty member for the program, in charge of instituting advanced courses in democratic processes for senior military and police officers from the locale. The combat veteran has also devised and taught, in Spanish, a jungle warfare course for Panamanian National Guard personnel. An expert on the U.S. policy of military-to-military engagement in the Western Hemisphere, Ramsey continues to provide consultation to Executive and Congressional figures on U.S. Latin American policy. He has served in the U.S. Army Reserve, and has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Bronze Star and the Department of the Army’s Civilian Superior Service Medal. He is currently a visiting professor at TSU-Fort Benning, where he teaches Latin American Security Studies. He holds a doctoral degree in Latin American history from the University of Florida and lectures regularly on the topic. Ramsey is the published author of more interpretive works on the topic of Latin American security forces than any other scholar, including 235 scholarly-refereed articles, 350 freelance articles, three novels and five biographies. |