CAL Conference 2026
Leadership, Resilience and Warfighting
Thursday, 19 November 2026 - Online
As the UK and NATO confront an increasingly contested and uncertain security environment, resilience has become a critical factor in national defence and warfighting effectiveness. This conference will examine the meaning of resilience in the context of modern conflict. It will discuss what military and civilian leaders should understand, anticipate and prioritise to enhance resilience and operational effectiveness.
This hybrid event will bring together participants from across Defence alongside leading experts from business, government and the third sector to examine these questions and develop a shared understanding of resilience in a warfighting context. Through a series of keynote presentations, panel discussions and facilitated debates, the conference will explore resilience at multiple levels: personal resilience, Army resilience, societal resilience and NATO resilience.
The distinctive feature of this conference is its deliberate integration of military and civilian perspectives. Rather than viewing resilience solely through an operational, organisational, or societal lens, the event will place leadership at the centre of the discussion. It will examine how leaders can build, sustain, and enhance resilience before, during and after periods of conflict, and what capabilities, behaviours and priorities will be most important in the years ahead.
Confirmed speakers:
We are Proud to announce our Conference Sponsor for 2026 - Applied Virtual Simulation! Their previous collaboration with the CAL has helped modernise leadership development training.
Modernising Leadership Development Training with AVS
