June 2011 - Admiral Thad Allen

Admiral Thad Allen, 23rd Commandant, USCG (Ret.) received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs from the National Defense University at a ceremony hosted by NDU President Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN, on June 9, 2011.

Allen joined RAND as a Senior Fellow on October 4, 2010, after more than 39 years of service with the United States Coast Guard. Allen completed his distinguished Coast Guard career as its 23rd Commandant, retiring from that position in June 2010.

On May 1, 2010, President Barack Obama selected Admiral Allen to serve as the National Incident Commander for the unified response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico—a position he held concurrently while finishing his tenure as Commandant of the Coast Guard. In that position, Allen was charged with oversight of all response efforts to cease the flow of oil and mitigate the effects of the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. Working closely with the federal on-scene coordinator, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Interior, Commerce, and Health and Human Services, he sought to bring a global unity of effort to response endeavors. Allen was also in charge of coordinating with various state and local entities, as well as directing the efforts of BP, the responsible party in the spill.

Prior to his assignment as Commandant, Allen served as Coast Guard Chief of Staff. During his tenure in that position, in 2005, he was designated Principal Federal Official for the U.S. government's response and recovery operations in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita throughout the Gulf Coast region.

Other Coast Guard assignments included Commander, Atlantic Area and Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic—where in 2001 he led the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area forces following the September 11 attacks. He previously served as Commander, Seventh Coast Guard District, where he oversaw all operations in the southeastern United States and in the Caribbean.

His numerous awards and decorations include the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal with gold star, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars, and the Legion of Merit.

Allen is a native of Tucson, Arizona. He is a 1971 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from The George Washington University—from which he received the Alumni Achievement Award in 2006. He also holds a Master of Science in Management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was elected a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow in 2003.

June 2011 - Admiral Harry D. Train II

Admiral Harry D. Train II, USN (Ret.) received an honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs degree from the National Defense University's Joint Forces Staff College at a ceremony hosted by NDU President Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN, in Norfolk, Virginia on June 17, 2011.

Admiral Train retired from his position as the Manager, Hampton Roads Operations, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the nation's largest employee owned research and engineering company, in September 2006.

He was a member of the United States Commission on National Security/21st Century, also known as the Hart–Rudman Commission, which completed its 2.5 year study in April of 2002.

He is a Senior Fellow at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College. He was the first Professor of Military Professionalism in the Henry Clay Hofheimer Chair of Military Professionalism, Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk. He has previously served as a Senior Fellow at CAPSTONE and as a Senior Mentor for the Defense Science Study Group. And He has served on the Boards of Directors of Aydin Corporation, Research-Cottrell, Gould Defense Business Systems and the American Cancer Society.

During the four years prior to his retirement from active duty in the United States Navy, Admiral Train served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic; as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command; and as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

He is a 1949 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a 1956 graduate of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

June 2010 - Ambassador Ryan Crocker

Ambassador Ryan Crocker received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs from the National Defense University at a ceremony hosted by NDU President Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN, on June 10, 2010.

Crocker was confirmed as Ambassador to Iraq on March 7, 2007. He assumed Chief of Mission duties at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on March 29, 2007, serving in that post until February 13, 2009. He was U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan from October 2004 to March, 2007. He served previously as the International Affairs Advisor at the National War College, where he joined the faculty in 2003. From May to August 2003, he was in Baghdad as the first Director of Governance for the Coalition Provisional Authority. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2001 to May 2003, and served previously as Ambassador to Syria (1998-2001), Ambassador to Kuwait (1994-1997) and Ambassador to Lebanon (1990-1993).

Since joining the Foreign Service in 1971, he also has had assignments in Iran, Qatar, Iraq and Egypt, as well as Washington. He was assigned to the American Embassy in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the bombings of the embassy and the Marine barracks in 1983.He grew up in an Air Force family, attending schools in Morocco, Canada and Turkey, as well as the U.S. He received a B.A. in English in 1971 and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2001 from Whitman College (Washington).

Ambassador Crocker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award in 2009. He also holds the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service, the Presi¬dential Meritorious Service Award and the National Clandestine Services Donovan Award as well as the State Department Distinguished Honor Award, Award for Valor and the American Foreign Service Association Rivkin Award for Creative Dis¬sent. In January 2002, he was sent to Afghanistan to reopen the American Embassy in Kabul. He subsequently received the Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for “exceptional courage and leadership” in Afghanistan. In September 2004, President Bush conferred upon him the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Crocker currently serves as Dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University.

June 2010 - Senator Samuel A. Nunn

Senator Samuel A. Nunn received an honorary degree from NDU's Joint Forces Staff College at a graduation ceremony in Norfolk, Va. on June 18, 2010.

Sam Nunn is co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. He served as a United States Senator from Georgia for 24 years (1972-1996) and is retired from the law firm of King & Spalding.

Raised in the small town of Perry in middle Georgia, he attended Georgia Tech, Emory University and Emory Law School, where he graduated with honors in 1962. After active duty service in the U.S. Coast Guard, he served six years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He first entered politics as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives in 1968.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Senator Nunn served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He also served on the Intelligence and Small Business Committees. His legislative achievements include the landmark Department of Defense Reorganization Act, drafted with the late Senator Barry Goldwater, and the "Nunn-Lugar" Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which provides assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

In addition to his work with NTI, Senator Nunn has continued his service in the public policy arena as a distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech and as chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is a board member of the following publicly-held corporations: Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, Dell Inc., and General Electric Company.

He is married to the former Colleen O'Brien and has two children, Michelle and Brian, and two grandchildren.

June 2009 - Senator John W. Warner

Former U.S. Senator John W. Warner received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs from the National Defense University at a ceremony hosted by Lieutenant General F.C. Wilson, USMC, President, on June 11, 2009.

John W. Warner returned recently to private life after his decision to not seek re-election to a sixth term as U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Virginia. During his 30 years in the Senate, he served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including three periods as Chairman, and was viewed as one of the most influential senators on military and foreign policy issues. At varying times, the Senator also served on the Senate Health, Education, and Pensions Committee; Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Select Committee on Intelligence (where he served as Vice Chairman for several years); Commerce Committee; Environment and Public Works Committee; and Rules Committee (where he served as Chair for several years). Most recently, he was the lead co-sponsor with Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) on climate change legislation.

The Senator volunteered for two periods of active military duty: the first as an enlisted sailor in the final years of World War II (1945-46), and the second as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War (1950-52). After completing his law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law, he clerked for The Honorable E. Barrett Prettyman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. From 1955 to 1960, the Senator was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia Circuit. He joined the law firm of Hogan & Hartson as an associate in 1961 and became a partner in 1964. In 1969 he was appointed and confirmed by the Senate as Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy, and later as Secretary of the U.S. Navy, positions he served in for a total of over five years during the Vietnam War.

Between 1974 and 1976, he served as Administrator for the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, where he administered federal programs in all 50 states and with 22 foreign nations that participated in this historic 200-year anniversary of the founding of our nation. Subsequently, he waged two years of political campaigning, winning election to the first of his five consecutive Senate terms in November 1978.

On January 3, 2009, he completed his fifth consecutive senatorial term and retired, establishing a record of being the second longest-serving U.S. Senator in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Former Senator Warner is presently a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson LLP.

June 2008 - Dr. William J. Perry

Dr. William J. Perry, MS, PhD, received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs from the National Defense University at a ceremony hosted by Lieutenant General F.C. Wilson, USMC, President, on June 12, 2008.

Dr. Perry is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University, with a joint appointment at FSI and the School of Engineering. He is a senior fellow at FSI and serves as co-director of the Preventive Defense Project, a research collaboration of Stanford and Harvard Universities. He is an expert in U.S. foreign policy, national security and arms control. He was the co-director of CISAC from 1988 to 1993, during which time he was also a professor (half time) at Stanford. He was a part-time lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Santa Clara University from 1971 to 1977.

Perry was the 19th Secretary of Defense for the United States, serving from February 1994 to January 1997. He previously served as deputy secretary of defense (1993-1994) and as under secretary of defense for research and engineering (1977-1981). He is on the board of directors of LGS Bell Labs Innovations and several emerging high-tech companies and is chairman of Global Technology Partners. His previous business experience includes serving as a laboratory director for General Telephone and Electronics (1954-1964); founder and president of ESL Inc. (1964-1977); executive vice-president of Hambrecht & Quist Inc. (1981-1985); and founder and chairman of Technology Strategies & Alliances (1985-1993). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

From 1946 to 1947, Perry was an enlisted man in the Army Corps of Engineers, and served in the Army of Occupation in Japan. He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1948 and was a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves from 1950 to 1955. He has received a number of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1997), the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1980 and 1981), and Outstanding Civilian Service Medals from the Army (1962 and 1997), the Air Force (1997), the Navy (1997), the Defense Intelligence Agency (1977 and 1997), NASA (1981) and the Coast Guard (1997). He received the American Electronic Association's Medal of Achievement (1980), the Eisenhower Award (1996), the Marshall Award (1997), the Forrestal Medal (1994), and the Henry Stimson Medal (1994). The National Academy of Engineering selected him for the Arthur Bueche Medal in 1996. He has received awards from the enlisted personnel of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. He has received decorations from the governments of Albania, Bhrain, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Poland, Slovenia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. He received a BS and MS from Stanford University and a PhD from Penn State, all in mathematics.

March 2007 - Admiral James M. Loy, United States Coast Guard (Retired)

Admiral James M. Loy, United States Coast Guard (Retired), received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs from the National Defense University at a ceremony hosted by Lieutenant General F.C. Wilson, USMC, President, on March 2, 2007.

Admiral James Loy has compiled an extremely distinguished record of achievement and contribution to national security. In 2005, Admiral James Loy completed a 45-year career in public service, retiring as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. In this capacity, he was involved in all aspects of consolidating 22 separate agencies into one unified Cabinet department as well as managing the day-to-day activities of the agency.

Prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, Admiral Loy served in the Department of Transportation as the Deputy Under Secretary for Security and Chief Operating Officer of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and later as Under Secretary for Security. In these roles, he served as the first administrator of the newly created TSA, which is responsible for protecting the Nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.

Admiral Loy retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2002, having served as its Commandant since May 1998. As head of the 90,000 person organization, he restored readiness through workforce development and modernized the Coast Guard's fleet of ships and aircraft. Prior to his service as Commandant, Admiral Loy served as the Coast Guard Chief of Staff from 1996 to 1998, during which time he redesigned the headquarters management structure and overhauled the Coast Guard planning and budgeting process to focus more sharply on performance and results. From 1994 to 1996, he was Commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area, supervising U.S. forces during the mass Haitian and Cuban migrations of 1994, and leading Coast Guard forces participating in Operation Restore Democracy.

A career seagoing officer, Admiral Loy has served tours aboard six Coast Guard cutters, including command of a patrol boat in combat during the Vietnam War and command of major cutters in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. His military commendations and civilian honors are numerous, including the Department of Transportation Distinguished Service Medal; four Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medals; the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Bronze Star with Combat "V"; the Combat Action Ribbon; the Naval Order of the United States; Distinguished Sea Service Award, the Seaman's Church Institute Silver Bell Award, the Navy League prestigious Admiral Arleigh Burke Leadership Award, the Intrepid Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and many other distinctions.

Admiral Loy graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1964 and holds Master's degrees from Wesleyan University and the University of Rhode Island. In 2003, he received the Honorary Degree in Science from the Webb Institute. He also interned at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

June 2006 - Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, United States Air Force (Retired)

Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, United States Air Force (Retired), received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs in June 2006. His extraordinary twenty-nine-year military career began with graduation from West Point in 1947 and concluded at the rank of Lieutenant General following service as the Deputy National Security Advisor. His Air Force service included Professor of Russian History at West Point; Assistant Air Attaché in Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Head of the Political Science Department at the Air Force Academy; Air Force Long Range Plans; Office of the Secretary of Defense International Security Assistance; Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Military Assistant to President Nixon. General Scowcroft has served as the National Security Advisor to both Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. From 1982 to 1989, he was Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. In this capacity, he advised and assisted a wide range of U.S. and foreign corporate leaders on global joint venture opportunities, strategic planning, and risk assessment. As President and founder of The Scowcroft Group and one of the country's leading experts on international policy, General Scowcroft provides unparalleled strategic advice and assistance in dealing in the international arena. He serves on the President's Advisory Committee on Arms Control, the Commission on Strategic Forces, and the President's Special Review Board (also known as the Tower Commission) as well as numerous corporate and nonprofit boards. He earned his masters and doctorate in international relations from Columbia University.

June 2005 - Mr. Norman R. Augustine

Mr. Norman R. Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation and a former Under Secretary of the Army, received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs in June 2005. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of ConocoPhillips, Black & Decker, and Procter & Gamble and a member of the Board of Trustees of Colonial Williamsburg and Johns Hopkins. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton and MIT. He is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Board. Mr. Augustine has served as the Commissioner of the Hart/Rudman Commission on National Security, Chairman of the Defense Science Board, President of the Boys Scouts of America, Chairman of the American Red Cross, and other international, government, and corporate entities.

June 2004 - General Andrew J. Goodpaster, United States Army (Retired)

General Andrew J. Goodpaster, United States Army (Retired), received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs in June 2004. Spanning over seven decades, General Goodpaster's career of public service included serving as an aide to four United States Presidents, commanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and came out of retirement in 1977 to serve as the Superintendent at the United States Military Academy. He was an author and educator on national defense issues. General Goodpaster was Chairman Emeritus of the George C. Marshall Foundation and served as Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Institute. He was awarded several military decorations including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom by former President Ronald Reagan. General Goodpaster passed away in May 2005.

February 2004 - General John W. Vessey, Jr., United States Army (Retired)

General John W. Vessey, Jr., United States Army (Retired) received the honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs on February 27, 2004. National Defense University President, Lieutenant General Michael M. Dunn, United States Air Force, conferred the degree upon General Vessey at a formal banquet in celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF).

General Vessey was a 1966 graduate of ICAF and is a regular guest lecturer at the College. He became a distinguished soldier, diplomat, and advisor to Presidents, and has rendered a lifetime of outstanding service to the nation and his fellow citizens. In and out of uniform, General Vessey exemplifies unparalleled devotion to "duty, honor and country" and the ICAF ideals of jointness and strategic thinking. As the 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Vessey sought to reduce inter-service rivalry and to streamline the national military command structure.

General Vessey is the holder of more than 35 United States military and foreign government decorations. In 1992, President Bush presented General Vessey the nation's highest civilian decoration, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Through more than five decades of incomparable service marked by exceptional qualities of courage, dedication, and leadership, General Vessey has set an extraordinary example for all. Today, the largest conference room in Eisenhower Hall, home of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, is named for General Vessey.

June 2003 - Ambassador George F. Kennan

Ambassador George F. Kennan was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs at the NDU graduation ceremony in June 2003.

Ambassador Keenan articulated the policy of containment, was a proponent of secret diplomacy, won two Pulitzer Prizes, and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George H.W. Bush in 1979. At the end of World War II, Ambassador Kennan became Deputy for Foreign Affairs at the National War College, where he wrote the seminal public exposition of the containment policy in "The Sources of Soviet Conduct," Foreign Affairs(July 1947).

Today the office where he worked is named in his honor and a plaque in the room commemorates his service. Ms. Joan Kennan, Ambassador Kennan's daughter, accepted the honorary degree on behalf of her father. Ambassador Keenan passed away in March 2005.

June 2002 - Dr. Condoleezza Rice

In June 2002, National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice received an honorary degree of Doctor of National Security Affairs.

Dr. Rice previously had earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. Prior to her White House assignment, she taught as a professor of political science on the Stanford faculty where she won two of the highest teaching honors - the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching. She also served as Provost at Stanford University.

Throughout her career, Dr. Rice has been active in the national security community and has published books and articles on foreign affairs. Upon conferral of the degree, Dr. Rice expressed her thanks and praised the contributions of NDU to the national security community.

June 2001 - Representative Ike Skelton (D-MO)

National Defense University instituted the awarding of honorary degrees with the title of Doctor of National Security Affairs in 2001. The first honorary degree was awarded at the June graduation ceremony to Representative Ike Skelton (D-MO).

Congressman Skelton, regarded by many to be the godfather of joint professional military education, has represented Missouri's Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1977, and is currently the Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Service Committee. As the chair of the 1988 Skelton Panel, Congressman Skelton was involved in implementing the education provisions of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. Long interested in defense issues, Congressman Skelton has been a strong supporter of the National Defense University.