ARLINGTON, Va., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies welcomes Kevin Pollpeter, Deputy Director of the East Asia Program at Defense Group Inc., and Ken Allen, Senior China Analyst at Defense Group Inc., as guest speakers for the upcoming Mitchell Hour. They will discuss the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and space program.

This Mitchell event will take place on Friday, May 4, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at AFA's national headquarters at 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA, next to the Key Bridge Marriott. The presentation will be in AFA's fourth floor boardroom.

Pollpeter is widely published on China national security issues, with a focus on China's space program.  He also served in research positions at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the RAND Corporation. His recent publications include, "Upward and Onward: Technological Innovation and Organizational Change in China's Space Industry" in the Journal of Strategic Studies (June 2011) and "China's Space Doctrine" in Chinese Aerospace Power (Naval Institute Press, 2011). 

Allen is a retired USAF officer with over 30 years of analytic work on China. In his current position, he focuses on Chinese military issues with a concentration on the PLA Air Force. After OTS, he served in Japan (5^th Air Force), PACAF Headquarters, China, and as an instructor in the Defense Intelligence Agency's Attache School. While assigned as the Assistant Air Attache to China from 1987-1989, he received the Director of Central Intelligence's Outstanding Collector Award and was inducted into DIA's Defense Attache Hall of Fame in 1997. He is the author of multiple books, studies, articles and monographs on Chinese military affairs.

All Mitchell Hours are free to the public. To register online for this event, go to http://may4mitchell2012.eventbrite.com. For additional information, contact Rachel Zimmerman at r.zimmerman@afa.org.

ABOUT THE MITCHELL INSTITUTE FOR AIRPOWER STUDIES:
The Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies is an independent, non-profit research, studies, and analysis organization founded by the Air Force Association. It takes its name from America's most famous and arguably greatest airman, Brig. Gen. William Mitchell. The Institute seeks to carry on, in the modern day, General Mitchell's tireless and dedicated effort to expand airpower thinking and increase public awareness of the need for this unique military instrument. For more information, visit http://www.afa.org/Mitchell/.

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.  To accomplish this, we:

• EDUCATE the public on the critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure U.S. national security.
• ADVOCATE for aerospace power and STEM education.
• SUPPORT the Total Air Force family and promote aerospace education.

AFA has 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing more than 108,000 members.  Visit AFA on the internet at www.afa.org.

SOURCE Air Force Association