LEWISTON – A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who led his battalion in the capture of Baghdad’s airport in 2003 will speak at Bates College on Thursday.

Scott E. Rutter will discuss his Iraq experiences and make a case for the war at 7:30 p.m. in Chase Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

Hosted by the Bates College Republicans, the college Representative Assembly and the Young America’s Foundation, the lecture is free and open to the public.

As a lieutenant colonel, Rutter commanded 150 tanks and other fighting vehicles and more than 850 soldiers in a battalion of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.

At Bates, he will relate his personal experiences in Iraq and explain his belief that the U.S. military mission there is essential to fighting global terrorism.

Rutter received a Bronze Star for valor for his service as a rifle company commander in Operation Desert Storm.

A Philadelphia native, he was a military graduate of Campbell University, Buies Creek, N.C. His Army service included stints with the 101st Airborne Division and 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”).

An instructor at the United States Army Infantry School during the 1990s, Rutter was appointed chief of tactics for the school in 1995. He later served in Korea. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and has a master of science degree in management from St. Mary’s College.