NIP Hears from DNI at Annual Fall Luncheon
NIP held its annual general meeting and fall luncheon on 25 October 2024 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. The turnout was fantastic, with over 120 members and guests in attendance. The guest speaker, Vice Admiral Karl “KT” Thomas (the Director of Naval Intelligence [DNI]/N2N6)spoke about the challenging national security environment, with an acknowledgement of the 2027 date by which China’s President Xi expects to be ready to move forward on his goals. Thomas then focused his remarks on the CNO’s recently released Navigation Plan (NavPlan) and put it in operational context for the audience based on his time in the Seventh Fleet area of operations. It was the first time NIP had a chance to hear from the current DNI, who assumed the duties in March 2024. He noted the presence of several former DNIs in the audience (Admiral (Ret) Bill Studeman (DNI 53), Rear Admiral (Ret) Tom Brooks (DNI 54), Vice Admiral Jake Jacoby (DNI 58), Rear Admiral (Ret) Tony Cothron (DNI 62), and Vice Admiral (Ret) Jeff Trussler (DNI 68), among several other senior leaders, to include Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth (Director, NGA), Vice Admiral Mike Vernazza (NAVIFOR), and Rear Admiral Tom Henderschedt.
The U.S. Naval Institute’s Senior Editor, Captain (Ret) Bill Hamblett joined NIP Chair Vice Admiral (Ret) Bob Sharp in recognizing the winners of the USNI/NIP Essay Contest. They also presented the third prize winners, who were attending the luncheon, with their award: U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commanders Andrew Ray and Collin Gruin. Their winning essay was titled “Small Ports – Maritime Intelligence’s Blind Spot.”
A smaller group attended the general meeting prior to the luncheon. Admiral Sharp presented an update on the overall status of NIP. He also described the plan for the USS MidwayCVIC project, with a comprehensive overview of how theinteractive CVIC display will look. NIP Chief Financial Officer Captain (Ret) Rich Barkell then presented the financial status, with the message that NIP is in overall good health financially.Captain (Ret) Mark Greer, NIP’s Foundation Committee Chair,reported on the Foundation's wide-ranging scholarship and awards programs. Mark highlighted that the “Donations”position on the Foundation Committee is vacant, even as the organization plans to embark on a Fall Fundraising campaign. Ally Wagner, NIP Outreach and Communications Chair, briefed the changes to our social media efforts—specifically LinkedIn and Facebook— to improve communications. Membership Chair Lieutenant Commander Jon Hilzinger reported that NIPincreased membership from last year to a current total of 881 active members, but NIP will continue to prioritize increasing membership, to include understanding member retention patterns. Admiral Sharp empowered everyone to recruit new members and set an aspirational goal of 1,000 NIP members. Finally, the last order of business was to officially vote to bringour U.S. Marine representatives Aaron Tooke and Scott Stalker onto the board and re-confirm the remaining board members.
Coming on the heels of the NIP-SLS social the Wednesdayprior, it was another great opportunity for Naval Intelligence professionals from near and far to re-connect, particularly with all those in town for the Senior Leader Symposium.
Save the date for NIP Red Tie Luncheon on 25 April 2025! Hope to see many of you there.
CONTACT
Naval Intelligence Professionals
PO Box 11579
Burke, Virginia 22009-1579
CONNECT WITH US!
© 2024 Naval Intelligence Professionals. All rights reserved. | Website design and development by Cat's Eye Design.