2021 USNA Distinguished Graduate Award Medal Ceremony

U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

2021 DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD MEDAL CEREMONY 25 MARCH 2022 • ALUMNI HALL

2021 AWARD RECIPIENTS The 2021 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony marks the 23rd year of honoring and celebrating the lives of alumni through the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award program.

Each year, distinguished graduates are honored for their demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of service, their personal character and the significant contributions they have made to the Navy and Marine Corps or as leaders in industry or government.

They are the living embodiment of the Academy’s mission to develop leaders to “assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”

We honor these five individuals for the principles they stand for—today and always.

KEVIN W. SHARER ’70 GENERAL JOHN R. ALLEN ’76, USMC (RET.) VICE ADMIRAL DERWOOD “DC” CURTIS ’76, USN (RET.) JANIE L. MINES ’80 LIEUTENANT BRADLEY W. SNYDER ’06, USN (RET.)

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DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD SELECTION PANEL DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD SELECTION PANEL CHAIRMAN Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert ’75, USN (Ret.)

U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND FOUNDATION PRESIDENT AND CEO Mr. Byron F. Marchant ’78

PANEL MEMBERS Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert ’75, USN (Ret.) Mr. Byron F. Marchant ’78 Admiral Timothy J. Keating ’71, USN (Ret.) Lieutenant General John E. Wissler ’78, USMC (Ret.) Vice Admiral Bruce E. Grooms ’80, USN (Ret.) Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck ’83, USN Vice Admiral Jan E. Tighe ’84, USN (Ret.) Mrs. Matice J. Wright-Springer ’88 Mr. George P. O’Garro ’05 Admiral Mark E. Ferguson III ’78, USN (Ret.)*

*Alumni Association Board of Trustees Chair, non-voting

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Welcome to the 2021 United States Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony.

On behalf of the DGA Selection Panel, I would like to congratulate the awardees.

Thank you for your service, both in and out of uniform. Your energy, passion and success in your respective vocations and your contribution to the Naval Academy, have made a tangible difference. We are especially grateful to your families, who served with you and continue to support you.

Selecting today’s honorees from a field of accomplished alumni was challenging and humbling. There are many accomplished graduates who deserve recognition. While each journey was different, all of today’s honorees began their careers of service right here.

This great institution continues to serve as a foundation of service, leadership and character that has our honorees on their journey to success. Being here with these distinguished graduates, and with future distinguished graduates in the audience, is especially meaningful.

My sincere thanks to the selection panel and to the USNA and Alumni Association and Foundation staff for planning and executing today’s ceremony. To the Brigade, our alumni and guests: thank you for joining us for this special event as we celebrate the extraordinary careers of our fellow graduates.

Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert ’75, USN (Ret.) Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Panel

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PROGRAM INTRODUCTION OF THE 2021 DISTINGUISHED GRADUATES NARRATOR Midshipman Andre C. Rascoe ’22 Class President

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM INVOCATION Captain Richard Bonnette, USN Senior Chaplain

WELCOME AND REMARKS Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck ’83, USN Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy

PRESENTATION OF DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD MEDALS Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck ’83, USN Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy Admiral Mark E. Ferguson III ’78, USN (Ret.) Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees Midshipman Lindsey E. Ellison ’22 Brigade Commander

REMARKS Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients

“NAVY BLUE AND GOLD” DEPARTURE OF THE OFFICIAL PARTY

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SHARER Kevin Sharer ’70 served two tours on nuclear submarines, the second as chief engineer of new construction on USS Memphis (SSN 691). He served as president/COO and CEO/Chairman of Amgen Inc. He is a co-founder of OneTen, a coalition founded by five chairmen/CEOs with the goal to train, hire and promote one million Black Americans into the American workforce over 10 years.

The Sharer Family Foundation supports many junior college transferees to major colleges and universities, many of whom are first generation Americans or first in their families to attend college.

Sharer was a member of the original Naval Academy Foundation (1999) and was continuously active on the Board of Directors. He was an organizer and lead donor for both of the Foundation’s capital campaigns.

He endowed a chair in the Naval Academy’s Aerospace Engineering Department starting in 2001. He has championed the value of hiring veterans and specifically Academy graduates.

Following his 20 years at Amgen, Sharer was on the faculty of Harvard Business School for eight years and co-authored The CEO Test.

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ALLEN General John Allen ’76, USMC (Ret.), was the first Marine to serve as Commandant of Midshipmen (2001-03) and was on the Yard during 9/11. He was the first Marine general officer to command a theater of war (2011-13) when he was Commander of NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan.

Allen’s career includes serving as commanding officer at The Basic School (2000-01), commanding General 2d MEB and Deputy Commander Multinational Force-West in Al Anbar Province, Iraq (2006-08). Working with Anbari tribes, he engineered the counterassault in late spring 2007, helping clear Al Qaeda from the province and setting it on course for reunification with Baghdad.

Allen was senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Middle East Security and working with John Kerry, he led the Israeli/Palestinian Security Dialogue for Middle East Peace Process (2013-14) and was Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State (2014-15).

He is the co-inventor and recipient of five patents for artificial intelligence enabled marine surface and subsurface weapons systems.

Allen now serves as CEO of the Brookings Institute.

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CURTIS Vice Admiral Derwood Curtis ’76, USN (Ret.), had seven command tours culminating as Commander Naval Surface Forces, the first Black officer to hold that position.

When the Pentagon was hit on 9/11, Curtis—who was on Secretary of the Navy Gordon England’s personal staff (2001-03)—ensured the administrative staff was safely evacuated and proceeded to secure all the classified material in the office spaces. He then led the operational staff to the Navy Annex and took charge of the Alternate Navy Command Center.

His work as Strategy Director at Naval Forces Europe set the groundwork for what would later become U.S. Forces Africa. As Commander Naval Surface Forces, he reinstalled the Surface Warfare Indoctrination School, optimizing junior officer training and pioneered the use of simulators to meet fleet training requirements.Curtis spearheaded the drive toward a more diverse Fleet.

Curtis is one of the founders of the Naval Academy Minority Association whose goal is to attract more minorities to the Academy, improve the graduation rate, provide a national alumni mentoring network of military and corporate members and support the Academy through philanthropic efforts. He also co-founded a nonprofit to help San Diego’s underserved communities and founded a program to assist Annapolis area youth.

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MINES Janie Mines ’80 was the first Black woman to graduate from the Naval Academy. As a Supply Corps officer, she managed more than 500 employees and oversaw a budget of $9.3M. After leaving active duty service, she served as a Highly Qualified Expert, Senior Executive Service, on the staff of the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, and as a member of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (2016-20).

In the corporate world, Mines served as senior vice president for Strategic Sourcing and Center Led Procurement at Bank of America.

She also held management and executive positions at Proctor & Gamble, Frito-Lay and Hershey.

For more than two decades, Mines has served as a mentor for midshipmen and with the USNA Alumni Mentoring Program. She was on the Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees’ Special Committee on Alumni Culture, Diversity and Inclusion.

Mines is the founder and director of the Boyz to Men Club nonprofit in South Carolina, where she established an incentive structure that helped focus young men with no positive role models on getting an education and preparing for future employment, leading to successful lives as adults.

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SNYDER Lieutenant Brad Snyder ’06, USN (Ret.), is a six-time Paralympic gold medalist and two-time silver medalist. In 2008, Snyder deployed with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a platoon commander, he led 34 combat operations with Iraqi Army units and saved lives by removing IEDs from the battlefield.

In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Snyder deployed as a platoon commander conducting more than 20 combat missions against Taliban fighters. On 7 September 2011, during a patrol near Kandahar Province while rendering aid to Afghanistan Special Forces, Snyder was critically injured by an IED, which would ultimately lead to him losing his eyesight.

At the 2012 London Paralympics, he swam for Team USA winning gold in the 100M and 400M freestyles and silver in the 50M free. His 400M gold came one year to the day of losing his eyesight, and he set the Paralympic and American records.

In 2016, Snyder won three gold medals and a silver at the Rio Paralympics. In 2021, at the Tokyo Paralympics, Snyder became the first American man to win an individual triathlon event in either the Olympics or the Paralympics when he clinched paratriathlon gold in the PTVI category.

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PAST RECIPIENTS 1999

2002

Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ’33, USN (Ret.) (1912-2004)

Vice Admiral Charles S. Minter Jr. ’37, USN (Ret.) (1915-2008)

2000

The Honorable James E. Carter Jr. ’47

Dr. John J. McMullen ’40 (1918-2005)

Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost ’53, USN (Ret.) (1930-2020)

Admiral James L. Holloway III ’43, USN (Ret.) (1922-2019)

Colonel John W. Ripley ’62, USMC (Ret.) (1939-2008)

Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence ’51, USN (Ret.) (1930-2005) Major General William A. Anders ’55, USAFR (Ret.) Mr. Roger T. Staubach ’65

2001 Captain John W. Crawford Jr. ’42, USN (Ret.) (1920-2022) Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. ’47, USN (Ret.) (1925-2007) Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale ’47, USN (Ret.) (1923-2005) Admiral James D. Watkins ’49, USN (Ret.) (1927-2012) Captain James A. Lovell ’52, USN (Ret.)

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2003 Ambassador William H.G. FitzGerald ’31 (1909-2006) Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey ’35, USN (Ret.) (1913-2007) Rear Admiral Robert W. McNitt ’38, USN (Ret.) (1915-2012) Vice Admiral William D. Houser ’ 42, USN (Ret.) (1921-2012)

PAST RECIPIENTS 2004

2006

Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak ’34, USMC (Ret.) (1913-2008)

Captain Thomas J. Hudner ’47, USN (Ret.) (1924-2017)

Vice Admiral Gerald E. Miller ’ 42, USN (Ret.) (1919-2014) Vice Admiral James F. Calvert ’ 43, USN (Ret.) (1920-2009) Lieutenant General Charles G. Cooper ’50, USMC (Ret.) (1927-2009) Rear Admiral Ronald F. Marryott ’57, USN (Ret.) (1934-2005)

2005 Captain Slade D. Cutter ’35, USN (Ret.) (1911-2005) Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim ’46, USN (Ret.) Admiral Ronald J. Hays ’50, USN (Ret.) (1928-2021)

Admiral Kinnaird R. McKee ’51, USN (Ret.) (1929-2013) General Robert T. Herres ’54, USAF (Ret.) (1932-2008) Admiral Charles R. Larson ’58, USN (Ret.) (1936-2014)

2007 Rear Admiral Maurice H. Rindskopf ’38, USN (Ret.) (1917-2011) Admiral Thomas B. Hayward ’48, USN (Ret.) (1924-2022) Mr. Ralph W. Hooper ’51 (1928-2020) Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr. ’62, USN (Ret.)

Mr. H. Ross Perot ’53 (1930-2019)

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PAST RECIPIENTS 2008

2011

Mr. James W. Kinnear III ’50

Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker ’56, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Frank B. Kelso II ’56, USN (Ret.) (1933-2013)

Dr. Bradford N. Parkinson ’57

Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya ’58, CEC, USN (Ret.) (1935-2015) Lieutenant General William M. Keys ’60, USMC (Ret.) Admiral Henry G. Chiles Jr. ’60, USN (Ret.)

Lieutenant General Matthew T. Cooper ’58, USMC (Ret.) Mr. Corbin A. McNeill Jr. ’62

2012 Admiral Sylvester R. Foley Jr. ’50, USN (Ret.) (1928-2019)

2009

The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper ’57

Mr. John E. Nolan ’50 (1927-2017)

Captain Bruce McCandless II ’58, USN (Ret.) (1937-2017)

Admiral Bruce DeMars ’57, USN (Ret.)

Vice Admiral John R. Ryan ’67, USN (Ret.)

Mr. J. Ronald Terwilliger ’63

Mr. Daniel F. Akerson ’70

Admiral Joseph W. Prueher ’64, USN (Ret.) General Peter Pace ’67, USMC (Ret.)

2010 Mr. David J. Dunn ’55 (1930-2021) Admiral Leon A. Edney ’57, USN (Ret.) Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch ’64, USN (Ret.) Admiral Joseph Paul Reason ’65, USN (Ret.) General Carlton W. Fulford Jr. ’66, USMC (Ret.)

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2013 Mr. Roger E. Tetrault ’63 (1941-2020) The Honorable John Scott Redd ’66 Ambassador Richard L. Armitage ’67 Admiral Thomas B. Fargo ’70, USN (Ret.)

PAST RECIPIENTS 2014

2018

Lieutenant General Thomas P. Stafford ’52, USAF (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Lawrence C. Chambers ’52, USN (Ret.)

Rear Admiral William C. Miller ’62, USN (Ret.)

Admiral James R. Hogg ’56, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Steve Abbot ’66, USN (Ret.)

Senator John S. McCain III ’58 (1936-2018)

Admiral Michael G. Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.) Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.)

Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr. ’68, USMC (Ret.) Mr. Steven S. Reinemund ’70

2015

Admiral Timothy J. Keating ’71, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Henry H. Mauz Jr. ’59, USN (Ret.) Admiral Richard W. Mies ’67, USN (Ret.)

2019

Admiral James O. Ellis Jr. ’69, USN (Ret.)

Dr. J. Phillip London ’59 (1937-2021)

Mr. David M. Robinson ’87

2016

Admiral Robert J. Natter ’67, USN (Ret.) Colonel Walter P. Havenstein ’71, USMCR (Ret.)

Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn ’51, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Robert F. Willard ’73, USN (Ret.)

The Honorable John H. Dalton ’64

Captain Wendy B. Lawrence ’81, USN (Ret.)

Captain Carl H. June ’75, MC, USN (Ret.)

2017 Admiral Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.) Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56 Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.)

2020 Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw ’61, SC, USN (Ret.) Colonel Robert D. Cabana ’71, USMC (Ret.) Admiral Kirkland H. Donald ’75, USN (Ret.) The Honorable Sean J. Stackley ’79

Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.)

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MISSIONS UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION To serve and support the United States, the naval service, the Naval Academy and its alumni; by furthering the highest standards at the Naval Academy; by seeking out, informing, encouraging and assisting outstanding, qualified young men and women to pursue careers as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps through the Naval Academy; and by initiating and sponsoring activities which will perpetuate the history, traditions, memories and growth of the Naval Academy and bind alumni together in support of the highest ideals of command, citizenship and government.

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NAVY BLUE AND GOLD Now colleges from sea to sea, may sing of colors true, But who has better right than we, to hoist a symbol hue?

For Sailors brave in battle fair, since fighting days of old, Have proved the Sailor’s right to wear, the Navy Blue and Gold.