Chair Update - September 2026

Greetings Naval Intelligence professionals! I hope this note finds you and your loved ones happy, healthy, and enjoying the annual transition from summer to fall.

Fall was one of my Jenny’s favorite seasons, and it remains very special to me, personally, for all kinds of reasons. I love the drop in temperatures and humidity and cherish the return of a cool crispness to the air—especially during morning runs. While we haven’t really been enjoying too much of that in northern Virginia yet, we have had some short glimpses of what’s to come. And I recently returned from a couple of days in St. Paul, Minnesota and can tell you that the changes are just over the horizon, both figuratively and literally.

This time of year is also very special to me as we gather with shipmates, friends, and family to remember and honor the heroes we lost in the attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001, and all the service and sacrifices that followed. It’s a time I look forward to each year. Although it always makes me experience the full range of human emotions and can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride, I ultimately find the time spent in fellowship and reflection to be simultaneously cathartic, healing, and reinvigorating. I value the opportunity for some quiet introspection, and some thoughts and discussion on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re heading—our past, our present and our future.

Hearing Captain (Ret) Tom Bortmes and Rear Admiral (Ret) Rick Porterfield share their stories from Tuesday, September 11th twenty-five years ago while they served as Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and Director of Naval Intelligence, respectively, brought back a flood of memories and emotions. Equally impactful were the stories shared by the four panelists during our September NIP Virtual Speaker Series, three of whom were junior officers attached to CNO-IP on the day of the attacks and lost their watch-standing teammates, and one who was asked to assume OIC responsibilities immediately following our tragic losses. I thought I knew a lot about what happened that day and in the following days. This year I learned that I still had a lot to learn—that we have shipmates who were affected deeply by those events and are still processing and coping with the loss, and just now able to share some of their personal perspectives. I was once again reminded of how young and how very special each person killed in the attack was—truly our nation’s “best of the best.” The pain of their loss felt fresh, and excruciatingly raw. You would think that it gets easier over time, but it doesn’t…nor should it.

At the same time, my spirits were buoyed by the reminders of how we came together as a nation following the attacks, and by learning more about just how immediate and extensive the efforts were from those left “standing the watch” to quickly recover, reconstitute, and rapidly start the relentless pursuit of those responsible. It reminded me of how blessed we are to serve, and to be members of the Naval Intelligence profession—a special community.

One of my favorite aspects of the 9/11 remembrance events is getting to meet the current generation of watch standers. While entering the Office of Naval Intelligence, there is always a cadre of our newest chief petty officer selectees helping with the event. Young professionals representing our total force are always in attendance in droves—officer, enlisted, government civilians and contractors, active, reserve, and retirees. And the fact that the current CNO-IP watch team assembles at Arlington every 9/11 to spearhead our efforts to pay our respects to their predecessors and to ensure that we truly Never Forget always makes my heart smile. I love the fact that they maintain a personal connection to those who were killed in action. Getting to know our current watch team always helps reassure me that although we lost incredible talent that tragic day, we continue to be well served by those taking up the mantle. Those standing the watch are indeed up to the task.

And our ability to continue to attract tremendously talented individuals has not waned. I witness it every time I’m fortunate enough to interact with our young professionals. As highlighted in the newsletter, NIOBC is once again sending their senior class to Washington, D.C. for some intelligence community engagements, and our local NIP chapter is arranging no-host social time for us to welcome them to the community. Just last week we had a class of 24 hit town, and I had the pleasure of chatting with quite a few during our gathering. My takeaway? Our future remains extremely bright!

When I was turning over directorship of NGA to Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth (the fourth time he had stolen my job and agreed to help clean up all my messes), I shared a sea story that’s relevant to my ruminations above. While I was the JICCENT Commander, I was working for General Jim Mattis, and someone asked him, “What keeps you up at night?” His famous reply,without hesitation, was that nothing kept him up at night—at this stage of his career he kept other people up at night.

I shared that story with the audience gathered for our change of directorship at NGA and admitted to the collective that I always wanted to be cool enough to say what he had said…but I wasn’t. However, when people asked me, “What keeps you up at night?” I gave a similar, but slightly different response. I, too, told people that nothing kept me up at night, but that was because of my trust and confidence in those standing the watch and the talent we continue to somehow find and funnel into our profession.

Our strength has been, is, and will continue to be our people. This time of year is always a stark reminder of that enduring fact.

Keep standing the watch.
Keep investing in our profession…and in our future.
Keep leading and showing the way!

Best, Bob