department of homeland security
the difficult task of making America secure in the wake of the deadliest terror attack on US soil. This included developing a unified national response, instituting sweeping air, land, and seaport security strategies, while integrating 180,000 employees from 22 agencies—including the US Coast Guard—to protect critical infrastructure, integrate new technology, and improve information-sharing worldwide. Upon reflection, Ridge commented that, “I had the opportunity to be secretary of the Coast Guard when I served as secretary of homeland security—there is no organization in the federal government that does more with less … that has more tasks and responsibilities and missions and trains the men and women to do all of them very, very well. We have to elevate the history, the tradition, and the service of the Coast Guard.” Ridge is the founder and CEO of Ridge Global, LLC, a Washington, DC-based security consulting firm that provides solutions to cyber security, international security, and risk management issues. He serves on the boards of the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and other private and public entities. He is currently chairman of the US Chamber of Commerce’s National Security Task Force and serves on the NCGMA Secretaries Circle. Ridge has also served on the boards of Home Depot, the Hershey Company, and Exelon CorpoThe Honorable Tom Ridge ration, and as a senior advisor to Deloitte & Touche, and TechRadium. Ridge was twice elected as the 43rd governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1995 to 2001. He is credited with a successful technology strategy that advanced economic development, education, healthcare, and the environment. He graduated from Harvard with honors. After his first year at Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law, he served in the US Army as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After returning to Pennsylvania and to Dickinson, he earned his law degree and entered private practice. In 1980, he became assistant district attorney in Erie County, Pennsylvania. He became one of the first Vietnam combat veterans elected to the US House of Representatives, where he served six terms from 1983 to 1995. The National Coast Guard Museum Association’s Alexander Hamilton Award honors unwavering commitment to and support of the National Coast Guard Museum. The museum, to be built on the historic downtown waterfront in New London, Connecticut, will celebrate the Coast Guard’s 227 years of service to the country. It will also salute the courage and skill of its dedicated men and women and provide a glimpse into its exciting and vital future. The award is appropriately named in honor of Alexander Hamilton, who established the US Revenue Cutter Service in 1790, a predecessor of the Coast Guard. The award is given to the individual whose leadership, vision, volunteerism, and support has had the greatest impact on forwarding the goals of the National Coast Guard Museum.
Admiral Jay L. Johnson, USN (Ret.), 26th Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy, will receive the NMHS Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding career as a naval aviator and leader of the US Navy, with recognition of his declaration as Chief of Naval Operations to annually commemorate the Battle of Midway, which he considers the greatest naval battle in history. We also honor the service he has given the US Naval Academy Foundation and the Peregrine Fund, among his many pursuits. The award will be presented by Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, USN (Ret.), 30th Chief of Naval Operations, recipient of this award in 2015. Former Secretary of the Navy—and a former recipient of this award— John Lehman will be there offering congratulations. As a Boy Scout in 1960, Johnson attended the Boy Scout National Jamboree in the Black Forest at Colorado Springs, Colorado, across from the new US Air Force Academy. When he saw the Air Force Thunderbirds soaring overhead, his Admiral Johnson sits for his on-camera interview with NMHS Vice future was determined—he was going to be an aviator. Ulti- Chairman Rick Lopes in the Cold War Room at the National Museum mately, it was the Navy that would train him to fly. of the United States Navy in Washington, DC.
photo by alessandro lopes
Admiral Jay L. Johnson, USN (Ret.)
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