NIP Chair Update

Your NIP and leadership team have had a very busy year and we are working hard toward making 2023 even better. As we continue to emerge from the disruptions from COVID, I am very hopeful and confident that together we will accomplish great things, not just for our community, but also for the Navy and the nation. With our national leadership focused more than ever on strategic competition in every domain, the Navy is front and center, and we in the NIP are a key part of that.

This is my first update for the members of the Naval Intelligence Professionals.  I am happy to be able to contribute to an organization that represents the good of the Naval Intelligence Community as a whole.  As I have told the NIP Board, Tony and the team have made great progress in modernizing NIP and increasing its value to its members and the Information Warfare Community as a whole.  My job is to keep that momentum going and bring value to our members.

We are very pleased to pass the NIP Chairman’s role to Lynn Wright.  Lynn was elected along with new Board members during our fall meeting in October. A career civilian intelligence professional, Lynn has a great passion for Naval Intelligence, one that comes from the experience - and the highs and lows - of three decades of exceptionally dedicated work in our profession.

It's great to see summer weather and the return of "social" activities.  The many benefits of "virtual" communications are real, but they can never fully replace the need for personal contact. 

As we all look forward to spring and—we all hope—the beginning of the end of the COVID pandemic, we also need to take time to celebrate and remember the 139th anniversary and "birthday" of the founding of Naval Intelligence on March 23rd.

Your new NIP Board of Directors held its first meeting this past weekend and, as always, I am so proud to see the enthusiasm, energy and love for the unique work and the amazing people who carry out the demanding mission of Naval Intelligence.

Given continued Navy and state restrictions on large gatherings, this year’s general membership meeting is being held over teleconference. In accordance with our NIP By-Laws, this communication serves as notice to NIP members of the date of the meeting and provides the slate of members proposed as…

This Chairman’s Update includes the announcement of this year’s Red Tie Award Winner, Melissa Drisko. 

I hope this note finds you all in good health. There are many who have been affected…

It’s once again time to celebrate the establishment of the Office of Naval Intelligence! On the 23rd of March it will be 138 years since LT Theodorus Mason convinced the Secretary of the Navy that there was a need for Naval Intelligence. His idea and “pitch” to SECNAV back in 1882 must have been persuasive,…

Our Fall Luncheon featured an update from VADM Matt Kohler who focused on the new CNO, ADM Mike Gilday, and on the status of Naval Intelligence. We also had an exceptional presentation by Commander (Ret.) Leah Amerling Bray on the State Department’s Global Engagement Center efforts to counter foreign…