CSF 2026, Day 1, Rear ADM Walker

So now it is my pleasure to introduce the 59th president of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral J. Darrell D. Walker. >> Thanks, Mike. It's great. I love doing this. Hey, you only get to hear that a couple more times here before I get to kick to the curb in November. Hey, what a great day. I'm excited. I don't know about the rest of you all, but this is an exciting week as I came back from Phoenix and it was 105° out there for a couple of days seeing granddaughters. Hey, truly thank you all for being here first and foremost, especially for our guests. And it's been a while to see a lot of the familiar faces here in the audience. We welcome you back to your Naval War College. Again, our provost is out on leave. Chief of Staff is here. CMC is somewhere around here. I truly appreciate it. The distinguished guests and colleagues, and most importantly, the students. Welcome to the United States Naval War College in the 75th annual Current Strategy Forum. Truly, what a great way to we start out this graduation week. For those who are graduating, not me, but raise your hand if you're graduating this week. Oh my, yeah, exactly. It's exciting. Now, it doesn't get any better than that. Flags are up in the plaza, so you know, we know there's a big event coming up for you all. I know most of those that are getting ready to to leave here at the end of the week are looking at two things, right? Also, goods move and what your next job is, right? That's what you're really truly thinking about, but I'll tell you, hey, take a few minutes and think about what we're going to talk about over the next couple of days. >> [snorts] >> We stand at a profound milestone for this institution. 75 years ago on May 9th, 1949, the forum began right here under the round table talks here at the Naval War College. Today, while the fundamental nature of war endures and its character continues uh change at an accelerating pace across the globe. Yet, the core purpose of this form remains at absolutely constant to provide a unique opportunity uh for our nation's public servants that are out here in the the forward rows here uh in our corporate leadership uh in a capstone event focusing with our faculty and our student body uh joining together for the future strategy of the United States Navy and our global partners, international partners here, too. >> [snorts] >> I do want to extend a warm welcome and thanks to many of the guests in the distinguished visitors here. Now, I won't hit you all up, but I'll acknowledge a few of it. Our senior uh our CNO distinguished fellows up here on the first row, Admiral Nirmal Verma from India, Rear Admiral Lars Saunes from Norway, and our newest fellow, Admiral Luis Polar from Peru. Thank you, gentlemen, uh for all of your continued leadership to this institution. You're immense val- You bring in immense value uh on a daily basis uh to our our students and uh you fully understand the shared maritime uh security discussions. Additionally, we have uh several guests, three of our former uh Naval War College Foundation Chairman, Rear Admiral uh Rear Admiral retired David Steindl, Mr. Philip Bilden. Uh I didn't see Philip this morning. If you're here, and then obviously uh Mr. Dan Holloway, sir, good to see you uh here today. Our Naval War College uh Chairman uh Rear Admiral Rear Admiral retired A.B. Cruz. There you are. There's A.B. Thank you for being here. I haven't seen the Vice Chairman here uh A- uh Rear Admiral J.C. uh Caesar. Uh and then also the Treasurer, Mr. Doug Newhouse, and Secretary, Ms. Barbara Skonfield here uh today. Thank you all. Uh Strategic Advisory Board members, Admiral Swift, I didn't see him here yet. Uh the Chairman, and then uh Vice Admiral Bill Merz, retired. Uh Major General Steve Seider, Chairman Emeritus, is here. Uh and then Rear Admirals Tony uh Lindgrich and Stephen Murray. Thank you all. Uh, along with the, uh, the rest of the trustees, the members, uh, of the, uh, foundation. I appreciate you all being here. Always, I want to thank, uh, the Naval War College Foundation, uh, President and CEO George Lang. Where he Uh, there's George. Uh, appreciate you. And, uh, more importantly, I appreciate your team, uh, Kathy Benn, Alexa, Kim, Alicia, uh, Allison, Nadine, Jennifer, Ray, and June, uh, for making this, uh, uh, possible for our team. And your team. Uh, no kidding, George. Your daily, uh, enduring, uh, efforts and support that you and your team do for this entire, uh, institution is, uh, truly eye-watering. I appreciate everything that you would all do on a daily basis. So, uh, with that, uh, I do want to, uh, uh, appreciate and thank the, uh, AV team, the protocol team, and all that folks that have, uh, done all the additional work here to make this possible and allowing us to get the folks on Zoom. So, now, to help us unpack the complexities of our strategic environment, and the college has assembled an extraordinary lineup of thinkers and leaders over the next few days. I want to, uh, thank our keynote, uh, speakers who will be sharing their insights with you over the next couple of days. Professor Francis, uh, J. Gavin. Where are you? There you are, sir. Thank you. Uh, from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Uh, Dr. Toshi, uh, Yoshihara will be here tomorrow from the Center of Strategic and Budgetary Assignments. And, uh, General Eric Smith, the 39th, uh, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps will be with us via Zoom, uh, tomorrow, too. I also want to express my gratitude to the moderators and panelists that are here, uh, who will help guide the afternoon sessions for us. Uh, thank you all for coming. And then, thank you all for volunteering your time and your, uh, your deep expertise, uh, in, uh, in providing your energy to shape the minds of our future leaders sitting here in the audience. So, as I stated this year, uh, the uh our theme sharpens our focus on to the core pillars of the Navy, maritime strategy, and our national security. Our challenges today are truly vast. The national security strategy emphasizes that preserving peace requires maintaining the world's most lethal military and robust robust deterrent. So, to to anchor the the lethal military capability, our focus was must be locked on to operational readiness and strategic adaptation at sea. To navigate us through these volatile waters, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle, has outlined a clear, uncompromising framework for the fleet. He is championing his his comprehensive hedge strategy. This framework is specifically designed to create a highly adaptive force, manage risk, and mitigate the profound uncertainties of the security environment. Coupled with the hedge strategy, Admiral Caudle's fighting instructions provides the tactical and operational baseline for the contemporary warfighter. They demand They demand an accountability, a lethality, and a readiness to fight and win today. So, the students in the audience from both of our senior and intermediate courses, including our international studies or students here today representing nations from across the globe, you should ask yourselves as you graduate. I know this is the final push in coming and consuming time, but as you prepare prepare for Friday's graduation and your next assignments, but consider this. Where are you going to the next Where are you going to the two next? The pace will not be slower. And it's highly unlikely to provide you an opportunity quite like this one. Time to think.