FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Daniel Magalotti
Acting Public Affairs Officer
National Defense University
daniel.magalotti@ndu.edu
(Washington DC) Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will address National Defense University (NDU) students, faculty, and staff, along with other invited guests, on 11 September at 1200 in Roosevelt Hall on Fort McNair. Secretary Mabus’s speech is entitled “The Case for American Sea Power Today.” In the speech, the Secretary will address the Department of the Navy’s priorities and why these priorities matter in today’s global and fiscal environment.
Secretary Mabus, who has served in his current position since May 2009, was Governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992 and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996. Secretary Mabus holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, a master’s from Johns Hopkins University, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He was also previously a Naval surface warfare officer from 1970 to 1972. Since assuming his current position, Secretary Mabus has focused on improving the quality of life of sailors, marines, and their families, creating a more sustainable fleet, and strengthening partnerships. Furthermore, in June 2010 President Obama appointed Secretary Mabus to prepare a long-term recovery plan for the Gulf Mexico in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Referencing his upcoming address, Secretary Mabus has stated, “I have had a unique and very privileged view of the Navy and the Marine Corps for the past four years. And I want to share my perspective about what American sea power means, and how the current fiscal path we are on will define how we will, and will not, be able respond to the nation's call in the future.” The Secretary will focus his speech on the unique ability of the United States Navy and Marine Corps to provide a global presence that supports the Nation’s defense strategy and how that ability is threatened by sequestration. At the conclusion of his remarks, Secretary Mabus will take questions from the audience, including from NDU students.
NDU is the premier national security institution focused on advanced joint warfighter 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.