2025 NIP Red Tie Luncheon
On a beautiful spring day in April, one hundred and twenty NIP members and guests gathered at the Army Navy Country Club for the annual Red Tie Luncheon to honor this year’s Red Tie award winners: Mr. Bob Wilson (posthumously) and Captain (Ret) Dale Rielage. The guest speaker was Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
After welcoming everyone, NIP Chair Vice Admiral (Ret) Bob Sharp recognized this year’s Red Tie awardees. Mike Borland, last year’s Red Tie award winner, accepted Bob Wilson’s award in his absence and offered some heartfelt and lighthearted comments about Wilson, affectionately known at ONI as “the Walrus.” Wilson, who passed away in June 2020, retired from ONI in June of 2003 after more than 33 years of dedicated service to his country, with strong expertise in the civil maritime space. He was a true leader in all respects and was able to draw the best out of the people who worked under his tutelage.
Captain (Ret) Dale Rielage was present to receive his award. Considered one of Naval Intelligence’s leading experts on China and the People’s Liberation Army Navy, Rielage was hired as a Senior Executive Service civilian following his retirement from active duty and currently serves in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the Director, OSD Red Team. A valued member of NIP, he coordinates the annual NIP/USNI Naval Intelligence Essay contest. Throughout the course of his active duty and ongoing civilian career, he has directly informed and positively impacted U.S. planning, strategy, policy, and investment decisions in ways that will continue to benefit our Navy and nation.
Following the award presentation, Vice Admiral Whitworth gave his keynote address. He referenced the remarks he made at the Red Tie luncheon three years prior, in May 2022, when he discussed what he termed a reluctant “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA). His message this year built upon the key themes he had offered previously and stressed the importance of sustaining “the rigor of understanding” in an age that promotes shortcuts. The full text of his address, which is well worth reading, can be found in the Fall 2025 NIP READBOOK.
During Vice Admiral (Ret) Sharp’s welcoming remarks, he recognized two special guests at this year’s luncheon: Intelligence Specialists Second Class Aiden Carinio and Matthew Pipino. NIP sponsored the two intelligence specialists as part of an initiative to recognize talented sailors for their exceptional performance of duties and give them exposure to NIP. Both sailors are imagery analysts who support NGA’s China maritime branch and were recommended for NIP recognition by their boss, Captain Caroline Rochfort, commanding officer of the Navy Geospatial-Intelligence Information Warfare Activity (NGIWA). Both sailors also received a handshake and a commander's coin from Vice Admiral Whitworth. Going forward, NIP encourages its members to sponsor a sailor or two or a junior government civilian for participation and recognition at future luncheons. These young professionals represent the future of our community and our nation—and based on the quality of our community's talent, our future is extremely bright!
As the NIP luncheon concluded, several members lingered to take photos and catch up with one another some more, which is exactly what NIP likes to see. Many thanks to all those who attended, and congratulations to both Bob Wilson and Captain (Ret) Dale Rielage for their well-deserved selection as the 2025 Red Tie Award recipients!
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