Chair Update - March 2025

Greetings Naval Intelligence Professional colleagues and friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful winter holiday season and managed to carve out some quality time with family and friends—there’s nothing more important in life! Although I enjoyed winter, I have to say I’m extremely happy to see spring announcing itself with some milder brisk mornings and warmer afternoons filled with sunshine. I’m even eager and prepared to weather all those April showers as long as they bring May flowers. Let’s all commit to getting outside more often this spring to enjoy the beauty of our wonderous planet, and to invest a little time and energy in our personal physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Although we took time to celebrate the holidays, as you’ll see from this newsletter the Naval Intelligence Professionals came into 2025 running fast and furious.

• Growing NIP Membership: We are currently at 911 members. We continue to make steady progress in growing our ranks, and I’m going to go out on a limb here to predict that this is the year that we surpass the 1,000-member milestone (no pressure…okay, a little pressure). I’m confident we can reach this goal with a three-pronged approach:

  • Continuing our efforts to make us truly “naval” by increasing our Marine Corps membership, programs, and participation
  • Deliberately growing our “total force” representation
  • Leveraging your personal involvement in helping us achieve our goals.

  Remember, you’ve all been deputized as NIP recruiters. When you’re having conversations with members of our community, take the time to ask some questions. “Are you a member of the NIP?” “Why not?” “Did you know that NIP has some great programs for you to invest in growing yourself and our community as warfighting professionals and as leaders?” Invite potential members to NIP social events, to Virtual Speaker Series sessions and to professional development opportunities offered by other intelligence community and defense department non-profits such as the AFCEA Spring Intelligence Symposium, the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Symposium, or the Space Foundation’s 40th Space Symposium, all coming up in April:

  • https://www.afcea.org/events/2025-spring-intelligence-symposium
  • https://seaairspace.org/
  • https://www.spacesymposium.org/

  While at events such as these, ensure you’re connecting with other members of our Naval Intelligence and Information Warfare community, and make sure you make NIP part of your conversation. Our membership will grow—it’s really that simple. Another great near-term opportunity to get people involved in NIP is our Red Tie Luncheon on the 25th of April from 1100–1300 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington Virginia. Registration is open and ongoing on our website. You don’t have to be a member to register; however, if you are a member, you save anywhere from $15 to $45 on your ticket, depending on your seniority. For our more junior professionals the savings are more than their annual membership dues! For those more senior, it’s about one-third the cost of a membership. Let potential members know they’re practically making money by joining!

• Expanding and Reinvigorating NIP Chapters: Our NIP Chapters remain a critically important aspect of who we are as an organization. They are our main touch points with our people throughout the world. I encourage everyone to get involved at the chapter level and to create opportunities to engage with one another professionally and socially (remember…we are family!). Take a look at the three chapter events highlighted in this newsletter. NIP PAC, San Diego, and Capital chapters all took advantage of visits by community seniors and professional symposiums in their region to arrange social events. You too can do something like this in your area. After all, NIP shouldn’t be all work and no play. Organize events. If what’s being offered doesn’t suit your liking, step up and volunteer to arrange something that does. Help us continue to strengthen and expand our network—you are empowered!

• Increasing Communications with the Membership: I had a sneak preview of the READBOOK that’s in the process of going to print. Once again, I think you’ll be wowed! This edition focuses on “warfighting” and the content is rich and thought-provoking. My thanks to all those who contributed, and my challenge to those who haven’t yet is to consider doing so. Your perspectives matter. Our social media relaunch efforts continue apace. We made significant progress in leveraging our LinkedIn presence with more than 1500 followers. Please continue to “like” and comment on our content to expand awareness across your own professional networks. We’ve made less progress on getting members to switch from our legacy Facebook site to our new private group, so we’ll be taking a turn on this throughout the spring.

• Increasing Awareness of the Value Derived from Naval Intelligence Professionals: While I was out in San Diego for WEST 2025, I had the pleasure of getting over to the USS Midway Museum for a lunch and a tour. Wow! I don’t really have the words to adequately express just how excited I am about the redesign of CVIC and its opening to the public this summer. This is going to be something really special, and something we’ll be reaping the benefits of for decades to come—potentially centuries, if you think about the future careers of those we attract to our profession through this effort. Stand by for more details on the opening celebration and the simultaneous celebration of the intelligence specialist (IS) rating’s 50th birthday.

  Another great way that we increase awareness of the value derived from our profession is through participation in professional symposiums. I’ve attended my fair share of Navy WEST events over the years, but I was really struck this year by the consistent, persistent message during all the keynotes and panels concerning the criticality of information warfare capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps warfighting concepts. The message was strong not only in the IW Pavillion from our Information Warfare community leaders, but also on the main stage and podiums and panels throughout the event, and from leaders representing all warfighting disciplines. The message was delivered by the INDOPACOM Commander and the Deputy CENTCOM Commander in keynotes. It was delivered loud and clear by a panel that featured warfare community leaders from our Navy air, surface, subsurface communities, along with the Commander of the Marine Warfighting Development Center and our very own Information Warfare community leader, who was also on the main stage, along with the others, as an important peer.

  I know that many of you weren’t able to attend the event; however, AFCEA and the Naval Institute co-hosts successfully recorded most of the sessions. I know you’re all highly capable intelligence professionals and would undoubtedly have no trouble at all finding and reviewing some of those recordings, but I decided to make it a little easier for you all by including links to some of my favorite sessions as part of this update. Warning: just like congressional recordings, there’s sometimes a little dead time up front, and some introductions…but it’s YouTube—you have the con. I highly recommend you listen to Vice Admiral Brad Cooper (Deputy CENTCOM Commander) describe a sporty night aboard USS Stockdale transiting the Bab el Mandeb and think about how that experience only represents a fraction of the challenges we face in an Asia-Pacific scenario. I also encourage you to watch the Warfare Community Leaders panel and the N2/N6 remarks from Vice Admiral Karl Thomas (DNI and N2/N6). Listen to the alignment between the Navy and Marine Corps as they discuss the capabilities needed to outpace our strategic opponents—information warfare capabilities that are central to deterring conflict…or winning decisively if call upon to do so!

  • WEST 2025 Keynote: ADM Stephen T. (Web) Koehler, USN
  • WEST 2025 Thursday Keynote: VADM Brad Cooper II, USN
  • Panel: Are Warfare Community Leaders Able to Advance Operational Capabilities? (Note: VADM Vernazza is on the panel)
  • N2/N6 Brief
  • U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S.TENTH Fleet/JFHQ-Cyber (Navy) Brief
  • View from NAVIFOR (note: the recording started late and missed most of his remarks)
  • Panel: What is Being Done to Strengthen and Secure Sea Service Capabilities that Pace the Threat? (Note: RADM Okano is on the panel. I have a cameo at the beginning…blow by it.)
  • Panel: Balancing Innovation and Cybersecurity (LtGen Carter is on the panel)

In closing, I want to once again take this opportunity to thank all of our Naval Intelligence Professionals who continue to serve our nation, conducting critical missions around the clock and around the globe. Our nation owes you and your families a debt of gratitude that most of them don’t even realize. We do, and we thank you.

Be well, and God’s Speed!

Best, Bob
NIP Chair