Summer Intern Security Springboard

Are you a strong progressive with an interest in national security but no formal training? Take advantage of your summer in Washington to learn how to apply your progressive values to shaping smart US policy across a range of career paths.

The Truman National Security Project's "Security Springboard" is a leadership development program for summer interns in Washington, intended to arm a new generation of policymakers and politicos with a firm grasp of national security issues and the philosophical tradition of strong progressive national security thought.

The program also provides participants with the practical skills – including communications and Military 101 training – needed to credibly address national security issues in their respective lines of work, from healthcare to energy to urban policy. The program aims first and foremost to introduce Washington’s newcomers to the array of issues that influence U.S. national security and provide a progressive framework for tackling these challenges in your varied careers moving forward.

Participants will learn:

• why a progressive liberal internationalist coalition will dominate American politics for the next 30 years, and how to engage now
• 3 stunning fundamental political demographic shifts and their effect on policy and communications
• distinctions among the 5 main schools of national security theory
• surprising military demographics and rank structure
• the critical challenges confronting progressives as we embrace a policy of getting to zero on nuclear weapons

"Security Springboard" participants form a strong community across Washington's many agencies and organizations in the interest of fostering early ties among like-minded, driven individuals, with access to the Truman Project's expansive network of experts and practitioners.

The Security Springboard program will be held every Wednesday in July from 12:30 to 1:30, with lunch provided. A combination of the Truman Project's experienced trainers and recognized leaders in the various fields covered will lead each week's program. Due to the abbreviated nature of the program and in the interest of building a cohesive class, attendees are required to attend each session, and "drop-ins" are not permitted. 

The Springboard is conveniently located at the Johns Hopkins University Campus in downtown DC, just a block from the Dupont Circle metro station.

The address is:
John Hopkins University
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-2001
Room LL7

The Security Springboard is open to anyone with a summer internship in Washington and interested in gaining exposure to the core tenets of strong, progressive national security. Participation will be capped at 100 participants. We especially welcome progressives who will be working in fields not traditionally tied to foreign policy and national security, but who seek to better understand it.   

The program, including the lunch and reading material, is provided at no cost to the participants or their offices.

To apply, please:
1) Complete this application form
2) Send your resume to Beth Foster at bfoster@trumanproject.org

All Applications are due by June 17th. We will inform you of your admittance by June 23rd.