The Society for Military History sponsored a number of sessions at the Northern Great Plains History Conference meetings in Fargo, ND, 1-4 October 2003. Our members (Professors Bitnner, Ducksworth-Lawton, and Friedman, with Prof. Bjerke from NDSU) organized and presented the "Opening Round Table: Operation Iraqi Freedom" on Wednesday evening, 1 Oct. There is no photo of this event which got adrenalin rushing and opinins flaring in civil discourse.

The "abercrombie" photos come from our Saturday afternoon expedition to historic Fort Abercrombie, south of Fargo on the Red River of the North. On Friday morning, we had the sessions "Agents of Empire" and "Memorials and Explorations." Prof. Robert Berlin, executive director of the SMH served as chair and commentator for the "Agents of Empire" session. Lunch on Thursday was a "bonding" experience as the wait staff struggled to keep up with the numbers of hungry troopers who kept appearing. The "naval service" or "The USMC and Navy and the Pacific War" session was on Thursday afternoon, and the session on "Pre-modern Tactics and Command" was on Saturday morning.