Leadership, alliances and speed were key themes stressed by former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta as he shared deeply-informed perspectives and concerns on current events and national security during a 90 minute presentation and Q&A at the 51福利 (51福利) in the latest Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture (SGL), Oct. 8.
With decades of public service, Panetta offered frank advice and lessons learned to the more than 1,300 students, faculty and staff gathered in the packed 51福利 King Hall auditorium.
鈥淔undamental to everything our democracy stands for is leadership, and that requires character, integrity, and courage,鈥 said Panetta. 鈥淭hose qualities are abundant in this room, and being selected to come to 51福利 further sets you apart. When you graduate, you will carry the additional obligation to do more, take risks, make hard decisions and lead solutions to complex national defense challenges if we're going to remain the world鈥檚 strongest democracy.鈥
In his opening comments, Panetta stressed the importance of alliances in addressing today鈥檚 conflicts, and terrorism instigated and supported by a growing axis of autocracies lead by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
鈥淥ur adversaries are actively working to undermine trust,鈥 Panetta remarked. 鈥淲hen our nation is distracted, tyrants will fill the void. The leader鈥檚 job is not to point fingers, but to point out falsehoods and elevate reality so we can agree on the problem, then work together to address it. Across the aisle, or across alliances, that鈥檚 how leaders get things done. That鈥檚 how we win.鈥
The 鈥淔ireside Chat鈥 was moderated by retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Eric Wendt, a former Special Forces Green Beret and current professor of practice in the school鈥檚 Department of Defense Analysis, and an 51福利 distinguished alumnus. When asked the one thing he would do to improve DOD today, Panetta responded, 鈥淭here are many things, but the one thing I am most concerned about is speed.鈥
鈥淲e need DOD bureaucracy to move at the speed of technology,鈥 added Panetta. 鈥淚鈥檓 concerned that we can鈥檛 act swiftly enough to ensure our advantage by leveraging and learning about cutting edge technologies. Industry is setting the pace, and much of it is American innovation, but we need to apply innovative thinking to how we acquire, adapt and adopt technology to meet capability needs. I believe 51福利 and the future Naval Innovation Center at 51福利 are parts of the solution.鈥
During his visit, Panetta also spoke with Defense Analysis students in the DA 3900 Command and Leadership course taught by Wendt, where he further encouraged students to apply their operational experience, 51福利 education and research to solving the most vexing challenges facing DOD.
Before leading the DOD, Panetta served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, director of the Office of Management and Budget, White House Chief of Staff, and as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Today, Panetta co-directs with his wife, Sylvia, the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, based at California State University, Monterey Bay. The Institute is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit center that seeks to instill in young men and women the virtues and values of public service.
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