 Hi, my name is Michelle Struck. I am the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense. I am here today for the first in-person technical level exchange between Department of Defense stakeholders who work on women, peace, and security and civil society. Civil Society Consultation is a requirement of the Women, Peace, and Security Act. And importantly, it recognizes that women, peace, and security really originated from civil society. So their advocacy, perspectives, ingenuity are all critical to the ability of the Department of Defense to effectively implement women, peace, and security, and for the whole of the U.S. government. Women, peace, and security implementation makes our joint force a more resilient and stronger fighting force and ally to our partners. It is also an essential component in safeguarding our national security and preventing future instability. With a forthcoming update to the United States government women, peace, and security strategy in 2023, our team at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy wanted to host a defense-specific consultation with civil society to hear their perspectives. This will help inform both our contributions to the strategy and to our update of the Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan for Women, Peace, and Security for WPS. Women, peace, and security implementation is a marathon, not a sprint. Every step must be intentional. And my office wants to make sure that we take into account the needs and priorities of women, people of diverse genders, and other affected populations to deter conflict and build a safer and more prosperous world for people of all genders.