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Press Release | Jan. 31, 2014

Rick L. Waddell Named as New CAPSTONE Senior Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2014

(Washington DC) MG Gregg F. Martin, President of the National Defense University (NDU) announced today that Rick L. Waddell, Ph.D., Major General, US Army Reserve, will serve as the new Senior Director of CAPSTONE. Waddell will officially report to NDU in the next few months. CAPSTONE is a congressionally mandated course for all newly promoted active duty one star general and flag officers and is executed four times annually. Also in Waddell’s portfolio will be Keystone and Pinnacle, which are conducted twice annually and educate Command Senior Enlisted and two and three star general and flag officers, respectively.

Waddell is currently the Deputy Commander for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs at the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, FL. He has made eight deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, working at the multinational and interagency level of MNF-I and ISAF. His military career includes serving on the White House staff with the National Security Council, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Staff, the Secretary of the Army Staff, and Combatant Command Staffs (CENTCOM and SOUTHCOM). In the corporate sector, Waddell has spent 17 years working in South America with companies such as Anglo American, BG Group, and Wal-Mart.

Previously on the faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Waddell was also a Distinguished Graduate and Rhodes Scholar. He has received the George Washington Honor Medal and the Hugh G. Nott Prize for his writings. His publications and presentations have been used in staff and defense college curricula in the United States, United Kingdom, and Latin America.

Waddell holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, a master’s degree in Modern History and Modern Languages from Oxford, and a doctorate in International Relations from Columbia University.

Commenting on Waddell’s appointment as CAPSTONE Senior Director, MG Martin commented, "We are honored to have Rick Waddell as part of the senior leadership at NDU. I am confident he will do a superb job and will contribute greatly to the National Defense University and our vital mission."

NDU is the premier national security institution focused on advanced joint education, leader development, and scholarship. The University provides rigorous Joint Professional Military Education to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and select others in order to develop leaders who have the ability to operate and creatively think in an unpredictable and complex world. For more information about the National Defense University, please contact: Daniel Magalotti, Acting Public Affairs Officer, at 202-685-3140 or daniel.magalotti@ndu.edu; or visit www.ndu.edu.