The Forrestal
Lecture Series was established at the Naval Academy in
May 1970 in honor of the late James V. Forrestal who, as
one of the foremost proponents of seapower of our era,
was instrumental in the development of the modern Navy.
Secretary Forrestal served in the Navy's flight program
in World War I, leaving service as a lieutenant junior
grade.
He reentered
government service in 1940 as an administrative
assistant to President Roosevelt. Later that year, he
was named Undersecretary of the Navy.
Long an advocate
of naval supremacy, he was the man responsible for the
remarkable logistical building of the Navy in the early
war years. He became Secretary of the Navy in 1944,
following the death of Frank Knox.
Secretary
Forrestal took unprecedented strides towards the
establishment of racial equality in the Navy. He also
served as the chief architect of the vastly complicated
merger of the War and Navy Departments into the National
Military Establishment (later the Department of
Defense). He was named the first Secretary of Defense by
President Truman in 1947. The awesome burden of
reorganization quickly took its toll and Secretary
Forrestal resigned for health reasons in 1948.
He died one year
later. The purpose of this series is to enhance the
education, awareness and appreciation of the members of
the Brigade of Midshipmen in the social, political and
cultural dimensions of the nation and the world.
Featured are leading representatives from various walks
of life—government, the arts, humor, literature,
education, sports, politics, science and other major
fields on the national and international scene.
Past Forrestal
Lectures
*Video
recordings are available of select lectures are
available in the Nimitz Library
Senator Chris Dodd
CNO Admiral Gary Roughead
Dr. Samuel Betances
Admiral James Stavridis
Mr. Max Boot
His Royal
Highness, Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan
Dr. Henry Kissinger
Mr. Dick Vermeil
Mr. Thomas L. Friedman
Captain Wendy
Lawrence, USN, (Ret.)*
The Honorable
Stephen J. Hadley
Admiral
Michael Mullen, USN, Chief of Naval Operations
Dr. Rushworth
Kidder*
Mr. Fred
Cherry
Mr. John
Graham
Mr. Richard
Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State
Admiral
Timothy J. Keating, USN
Mr. Roger
Staubach*
General James
N. Mattis, USMC
General Barry
R. McCaffrey, USA,
(Ret.)
Dr.
Condoleezza Rice, National Security
Advisor*
President
George W. Bush*, 41st President of the United
States
General
Michael Hagee, USMC, Commandant of the US Marine Corps*
Mr. David
Robinson
Ambassador
Dennis B.
Ross*
Mr. Tim J.
Russert, Jr.
The Honorable
Anthony J. Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs*
The Honorable
Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy*
Mr. Robert
Kaplan*
General James
L. Jones, USMC, Commandant of the US Marine Corps*
Dr. Robert
Ballard*
Captain
William Shepherd,
USN*
The Honorable
Antonin Scalia, Justice of the US Supreme Court*
The Honorable
John McCain, Senator for Arizona*
Mr. Tommy
Lasorda
Mr. George
Will
Admiral Vern
Clark, USN, Chief of Naval Operations*
Dr. Benjamin
Carson
The Honorable
Richard Danzig, Secretary of the Navy
Mr. H. Ross
Perot*
Mr. Paul W.
Bucha*
Mr. Louis
Freeh, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation*
The Honorable
Elizabeth Dole, Senator for North Carolina
General
Anthony Zinni,
USMC*
General Barry
McCaffrey, Director, ONDCP*
Admiral
Joseph W. Prueher, Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific
Command*
The Honorable
James A. Baker, Former Secretary of State*
The Honorable
John H. Dalton, Secretary of the Navy*
General Colin
Powell, USA
Dr. William
J.
Bennett*
The Honorable
John McCain, U.S. Senator*
The Honorable
Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State*
The Honorable
Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey*
Mr. Todd
Skinner*
Admiral
Johnson, USN, Chief of Naval Operations
Dr. Robert Ballard
