2017 Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony Program

The 2017 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony marks the 19th year of honoring and celebrating the lives of alumni through the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award program.

Each year, distinguished graduates are honored because of their demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of service, their personal character and the significant contributions they have made to the Navy and Marine Corps or as leaders in industry or government. They are the living embodiment of the Academy’s mission to develop leaders to “assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”

We honor these four individuals for the principles they stand for—today and always.

Admiral Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.) Mr. Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56

2017

Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.)

31

MARCH

•

Distinguished Graduate Award Medal Ceremony

Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.)

ALUMNI

HALL

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U.S.

NAVAL

ACADEMY

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The 2017 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony marks the 19th year of honoring and celebrating the lives of alumni through the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award program.

Each year, distinguished graduates are honored because of their demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of service, their personal character and the significant contributions they have made to the Navy and Marine Corps or as leaders in industry or government. They are the living embodiment of the Academy’s mission to develop leaders to “assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”

We honor these four individuals for the principles they stand for—today and always.

Admiral Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.) Mr. Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56 Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.) Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.)

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Message from the Chairman Welcome to the 2017 United States Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony.

To this year’s distinguished graduates: congratulations and thank you for your many years of dedicated service, both in and out of uniform.

Your energy, your passion and your life’s work have made an incredible difference. We are especially grateful to your families, who continue to support you in all that you do.

Selecting today’s honorees from a field of accomplished alumni was both challenging and humbling; challenging because there are so many truly amazing graduates who deserve recognition and humbling to have the opportunity to rub shoulders with these and so many other distinguished graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy.

While each path was different, all of today’s honorees began their lifelong careers of service right here.

This great institution continues to serve as the foundation—that shared experience—of patriotism, camaraderie and character that has sustained these leaders and put them on their paths to

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success. To be back here with these truly distinguished graduates, and with all of you future distinguished graduates, is especially meaningful.

My special thanks to the selection committee and to everyone who had a hand in planning and executing today’s ceremony. To the Brigade, our alumni and guests: thank you for sharing this special event as we celebrate the noteworthy accomplishments and extraordinary careers of our fellow graduates.

Admiral Michael Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.) Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Committee 2014 U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient

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Program Medal Presentation 4:30 p.m.

Introduction of the 2017 Distinguished Graduates Narrator Midshipman Chosnel J. Raymond ’17 President, Class of 2017 Invocation Captain Francis P. Foley, CHC, USN Command Chaplain The National Anthem Welcome and Remarks Vice Admiral Walter E. “Ted” Carter Jr. ’81, USN Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy Presentation of Distinguished Graduate Award Medals Admiral Robert J. Natter ’67, USN (Ret.) Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees and Midshipman Isabel K. Krause ’17 Brigade Commander Remarks Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients “Navy Blue & Gold” Departure of the Official Party

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Admiral Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.) Admiral Harry D. Train II, USN (Ret.), graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1949 and began a long and distinguished career in the service of his country. His academic credentials include a diploma from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA; tenure in the Henry Clay Hofheimer Chair of Military Professionalism at the Armed Forces Staff College; service as a senior fellow at the Institute of Higher Defense Studies of the National Defense University; and an honorary doctorate in national security affairs from the National Defense University.

On active duty with the U.S. Navy, Admiral Train commanded an attack submarine, BARBEL; a guided missile destroyer, CONYNGHAM; a cruiser destroyer flotilla group in the Atlantic, JOHN F. KENNEDY CV; NATO’s Carrier Striking Group Two in the Mediterranean; NATO’s Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe; and the United States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. He also served as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command, NATO’s

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Supreme Allied Commander-Atlantic Command and Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet.

On shore duty, Admiral Train held high-level staff positions with the office of the Secretary of the Navy; office of the Chief of Naval Operations; and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he served as director of the Joint Staff and three times as head of the United States Incidents at Sea Delegation to the Soviet Union. He has earned recognition internationally, being designated for his superior service not only by his own country, but also by France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.

Following his retirement from active duty in 1982, Admiral Train became deeply involved in the civic affairs of his community, co-founding and serving as longtime president of Future of Hampton Roads. He also served with the Hampton Roads Operations of SAIC International, as senior fellow of the Joint Advanced Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the

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Old Dominion Research Foundation and as a member of the of the U.S. Commission on National Security/ 21st Century. Admiral Train helped establish the CAPSTONE Course at the National Defense University for newly selected flag and general officers and served as a senior mentor for more than two decades. In addition, Admiral Train served as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society from 19832003, receiving awards including the National Crusade Award, Certificate of Appreciation for Income Development, J. Shelton Horsley Memorial Award and St. George National Award.

He also has served in an advisory capacity at the Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School and NATO Defense College. Admiral Train also served as president of his class from 1965-1969.

After he retired, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, 2,030 miles, end to end, on his own.

Admiral Train and his wife, the love of his life, Catharine, have four daughters and four grandchildren.

They continue to live in Norfolk, VA.

“You can’t walk far in the Hampton Roads region without feeling the effects and persona of Admiral Train.

While his Navy career was spectacular in many ways, his efforts to build and better his family, community and country in the 34 years since his retirement have been no less energetic and remarkable.”

—Captain Bradford N. McDonald ’77, USN (Ret.) 5

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Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56 Raised by a widowed mother in small town Texas, Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56, who interned at age 11 as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives, spent a year at Texas A&M before entering the Naval Academy, where he met fellow Texan H. Ross Perot ’53, with whom he would later forge an extraordinary business partnership.

Hart swam butterfly for Navy, played water polo, was editor-in-chief of The Log and, for his last two years, was vice-president of the Class of 1956. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps.

Following The Basic School, Hart trained officer candidates and platoon leaders, was stationed in McAlester, OK, to transition the base to a Special Weapons Base and was deployed to Okinawa as an artillery battery executive officer. After the Marine Corps, Hart was recruited by Perot to join IBM in Dallas. In 1962, Hart joined Perot to launch EDS, which provided companies with data processing personnel, computer equipment and long-term contracts to support them.

As president of EDS, a global leader in information technology services, Hart favored hiring people with military backgrounds—those who exhibited both leadership and discipline and who understood and were willing to take risk.

After retiring from EDS in 1977, Hart’s first investment was as co-founder of The Home Depot, where he served 6

on the executive committee and remained on the board for more than 30 years. He played a vital role in launching the company’s much-vaunted programs supporting Reservists, National Guard members and retired and recently separated military personnel. He also founded and has been chairman of Rmax Operating, an insulation manufacturer, as well as The Hart Group, a diversified group of companies. Hart and his wife, Linda, a partner in both his business and philanthropic endeavors, have supported educational, cultural, civic and medical organizations and other institutions important to them.

During the Vietnam War, Hart focused on the chasm separating civilians and military personnel. He spoke on numerous college campuses about the significance of military service and the importance of the leadership opportunities and training afforded by the military. The Harts have believed that many of the challenges facing the nation resulted from a disconnect between the military and those they served, as well as the absence of ethics training and leadership education nationwide.

The Harts responded by launching the Duke Hart Leadership Program, an undergraduate program grounded in ethical leadership, founded more than 30 years ago through which more than 12,000 students have passed, and the

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SMU Hart Global Leaders Forum, geared toward high school students. In the late 1990s, in the wake of a cheating scandal at the Naval Academy, they turned their attention to the Academy.

The Harts supported a dramatic expansion of the Naval Academy Leadership Conference to include students from civilian universities to foster interaction and understanding among them. Today, this annual midshipman-run event attracts more than 200 participants from more than 45 military and civilian institutions.

The Harts also established the SMU Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, which provides mandated leadership assessment and training to all engineering students.

Mitch Hart’s volunteer leadership includes serving as a trustee of three universities: Texas Southern, Duke and SMU (where he is one of 10 trustees in SMU’s 100-year history to be honored as “trustee emeritus”) and SMU’s School of Engineering. Hart was chairman of Docucorp International, and he and Linda were recognized by the National Society of Fundraising Executives as the 1999 Dallas Outstanding Philanthropists, received the 2013 UT Southwestern Medical Foundation Sprague Award for support of medical research and are recognized in the Naval Academy Foundation’s Superintendent’s Society and President’s Circle. They live in Dallas and have four children and nine grandchildren.

“Mitch epitomizes those characteristics of duty, honor, courage and commitment the Naval Academy strives to inspire. A man of great integrity, by any measure, he is a distinguished graduate.”

—Colonel George Mushalko ’56, USAF (Ret.)

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Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.) From Richmond, VA, Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson ‘70, USN (Ret.), was well-known and respected at the Naval Academy, a standout tennis player, and a superb leader who served as 2nd Company Commander for two sets. That leadership experience would serve him well in the surface warfare community, where the good earn command at sea once, the best twice, the very best three times … and the very best of the best four times.

Admiral Dawson had command at sea an extraordinary six times, spending almost as many years in command as most officers do in their entire careers.

His afloat career included 10 deployments to Vietnam, the Western Pacific, the Persian Gulf, Central America and the Baltic Sea. A combat veteran, Admiral Dawson served in the Vietnam War, Operation Earnest Will, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Fox, counter drug operations and counter terrorism operations, and his commands included MOLALA, BRONSTEIN, HARRY W. HILL, PRINCETON, the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and Second Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic. His leadership at sea led to three Battle E’s, two Ney Awards and two Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Awards. Ashore, he earned a master’s degree in financial management from the Naval Postgraduate School and

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graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He served as the Navy’s Acting Budget Officer in the mid-1990s, and had two tours in the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs, first as director of the Navy Senate Office, later as Chief of Legislative Affairs.

Admiral Dawson’s naval career culminated with his final tour as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and Assessments, the Navy’s premier financial management position, coordinating with multiple staffs the management and execution of a $100 billion-plus annual budget. As such, his efforts and decisions had a direct impact on more than 400,000 service personnel worldwide.

Immediately following his retirement from active duty in 2004, Admiral Dawson became president and CEO of Vienna, VA-based Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), the world’s largest credit union, which has more than seven million members, 15,000 employees and $80 billion in assets.

Under his leadership, NFCU has experienced 175 percent revenue growth, 130 percent income growth and a three-year average return on equity of 12 percent. It generates more than $5 billion in revenue each year.

During his tenure, NFCU branches have been named the Department of the

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Navy’s Distinguished Credit Union of the Year, a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work for five straight years and one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Women.

His volunteer leadership service has included the President’s Financial Literacy Council, the Center for Creative Leadership, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and the Consumer Federation of America. The Naval Academy is supported by a NFCU branch, one of 296 branches around the world. He also has mentored many successful Naval Academy midshipman candidates, been an advisor to several Naval Academy superintendents and previously served on the Naval Academy Alumni Association’s Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Committee and as a Naval Academy Foundation Athletic and Scholarship Programs Trustee.

Admiral Dawson and his wife Debbie are recognized in the Naval Academy Foundation’s President’s Circle and Robert Means Thompson Society and are also supporters of Navy Tennis and Navy Squash. They have three children, daughters Daryl, a member of the Naval Academy Class of 2007, and Devon, of the University of Virginia Class of 2011; a son, Cutler, of the University of Southern California Class of 2009, and a granddaughter.

“Vice Admiral Dawson’s career is one of legend to his surface warfare contemporaries, and his support for and execution of his nation’s maritime policies and objectives, across all or parts of four decades, afloat and ashore, has benefited countless men and women sailors and their families.”

—Rear Admiral Daniel R. Bowler ’70, USN (Ret.)

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Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.) A native of Tacoma, WA, Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.), graduated from the United States Naval Academy having served as the chairman of the Naval Academy Honor Committee his first class year. Undaunted by warnings that a Naval Special Warfare service selection would limit his career, Admiral Olson reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training class—one of just three members of the Class of 1973 initially selected to do so. Of 54 students in his BUD/S class, only four graduated.

Ensign Olson was selected by his instructor cadre as the class “Honor Man.” Admiral Olson went on to serve and lead in every type of special warfare command: underwater demolition, SEAL Teams, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team, Special Boat Squadron, Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Naval Special Warfare Command. His overseas assignments included staff positions and operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia and Somalia, where his valorous actions following the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters in 1993 earned him the Silver Star.

Although some of the specifics of Admiral Olson’s career remain classified, his steady ascent through the ranks of naval and special warfare leadership is well-documented. The first Navy SEAL

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to reach three- and four-star rank, he commanded the Navy’s counterterrorist unit in the late 1990s and Naval Special Warfare Command from 1999 until 2002. His restructuring of all Naval Special Warfare forces in 1999 and 2000 set the stage for continuous command-level deployments in response to the attacks of 9/11. Later, as head of all U.S. Special Operations forces from 2007 to 2011—the first naval officer to hold the position— he was responsible for the mission readiness and global deployments of more than 60,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps personnel in more than 75 countries. He was the senior SEAL for nine years and held the honorary title of “Bullfrog” as the longest continuously serving SEAL on active duty. In addition to the Silver Star, his decorations include the Bronze Star with Combat “V,” Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Award and two Defense Superior Service Awards. At his retirement in 2011, Admiral Michael Mullen of the Class of 1968, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “Eric, you have devoted a lifetime to saving the lives of others. You have made this world a better and safer place. We are in your debt. People who don’t even

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know you are in your debt. Immense is the difference you have made, immeasurable is your service and that of your family.”

Upon retirement from the Navy, Admiral Olson founded ETO Group, an independent national security consultancy that advises a number of public and privately held companies focused on developing advanced technologies to solve national security challenges. Admiral Olson holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School and is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Today, he serves on the boards of the non-profit organizations the National Navy SEAL Museum and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Among numerous recognitions, he was appointed an Officer in the French Legion of Honor and he received the Business Executives for National Security’s Eisenhower Award, the Office of Strategic Services Society’s’ Donovan Award and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Patriot Award.

Admiral Olson and his wife, Marilyn, are recognized in the Naval Academy Foundation’s President’s Circle. They live in Tampa, FL, and have two children.

“I have known and served with Eric for over 20 years and I can say unequivocally that he is one of the foremost wartime leaders of our time.”

—Admiral Thomas B. Fargo ’70, USN (Ret.) 2013 U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient

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Past Recipients 1999

2002

Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ’33, USN (Ret.)

Vice Admiral Charles S. Minter Jr. ’37, USN (Ret.)

(1912-2004)

(1915-2008)

2000

The Honorable James E. Carter Jr. ’47

Dr. John J. McMullen ’40

Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost ’53, USN (Ret.)

(1918-2005)

Admiral James L. Holloway III ’43, USN (Ret.) Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence ’51, USN (Ret.) (1930-2005)

Major General William A. Anders ’55, USAFR (Ret.) Mr. Roger T. Staubach ’65

Colonel John W. Ripley ’62, USMC (Ret.) (1939-2008)

2003 Ambassador William H.G. FitzGerald ’31 (1909-2006)

Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey ’35, USN (Ret.) (1913-2007)

2001 Captain John W. Crawford Jr. ’42, USN (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Robert W. McNitt ’38, USN (Ret.) (1915-2012)

Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. ’47, USN (Ret.) (1925-2007)

Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale ’47, USN (Ret.) (1923-2005)

Admiral James D. Watkins ’49, USN (Ret.) (1927-2012)

Captain James A. Lovell ’52, USN (Ret.)

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Vice Admiral William D. Houser ’42, USN (Ret.) (1921-2012)

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Past Recipients 2004

2007

Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak ’34, USMC (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Maurice H. Rindskopf ’38, USN (Ret.)

(1913-2008)

(1917-2011)

Vice Admiral Gerald E. Miller ’42, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Thomas B. Hayward ’48, USN (Ret.)

(1919-2014)

Vice Admiral James F. Calvert ’43, USN (Ret.)

Mr. Ralph W. Hooper ’51

(1920-2009)

Admiral Leighton W. Smith Jr. ’62, USN (Ret.)

Lieutenant General Charles G. Cooper ’50, USMC (Ret.)

2008

(1927-2009)

Mr. James W. Kinnear III ’50

Rear Admiral Ronald F. Marryott ’57, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Frank B. Kelso II ’56, USN (Ret.) (1933-2013)

(1934-2005)

2005 Captain Slade D. Cutter ’35, USN (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya ’58, CEC, USN (Ret.) (1935-2015)

(1911-2005)

Lieutenant General William M. Keys ’60, USMC (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Robert H. Wertheim ’46, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Henry G. Chiles Jr. ’60, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Ronald J. Hays ’50, USN (Ret.)

2009

Mr. H. Ross Perot ’53

Mr. John E. Nolan ’50

2006

Admiral Bruce DeMars ’57, USN (Ret.)

Captain Thomas J. Hudner ’47, USN (Ret.)

Mr. J. Ronald Terwilliger ’63

Admiral Kinnaird R. McKee ’51, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Joseph W. Prueher ’64, USN (Ret.)

(1929-2013)

General Peter Pace ’67, USMC (Ret.)

General Robert T. Herres ’54, USAF (Ret.) (1932-2008)

Admiral Charles R. Larson ’58, USN (Ret.) (1936-2014)

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Past Recipients 2010

2013

Mr. David J. Dunn ’55

Mr. Roger E. Tetrault ’63

Admiral Leon A. Edney ’57, USN (Ret.)

The Honorable John Scott Redd ’66

Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch ’64, USN (Ret.)

Ambassador Richard L. Armitage ’67 Admiral Thomas B. Fargo ’70, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Joseph Paul Reason ’65, USN (Ret.) General Carlton W. Fulford Jr. ’66, USMC (Ret.)

2014

2011

Lieutenant General Thomas P. Stafford ’52, USAF (Ret.)

Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker ’56, USN (Ret.)

Rear Admiral William C. Miller ’62, USN (Ret.)

Dr. Bradford N. Parkinson ’57

Admiral Steve Abbot ’66, USN (Ret.)

Lieutenant General Matthew T. Cooper ’58, USMC (Ret.)

Admiral Michael G. Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.)

Mr. Corbin A. McNeill Jr. ’62

Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.)

2012

2015

Admiral Sylvester R. Foley Jr. ’50, USN (Ret.)

Admiral Henry H. Mauz Jr. ’59, USN (Ret.)

The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper ’57

Admiral Richard W. Mies ’67, USN (Ret.)

Captain Bruce McCandless II ’58, USN (Ret.)

Admiral James O. Ellis Jr. ’69, USN (Ret.)

Vice Admiral John R. Ryan ’67, USN (Ret.)

Mr. David M. Robinson ’87

Mr. Daniel F. Akerson ’70

2016 Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn ’51, USN (Ret.) The Honorable John H. Dalton ’64 Captain Carl H. June ’75, MC, USN (Ret.)

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Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Committee Distinguished Graduate Award Selection Committee Chairman Admiral Michael G. Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.)

U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation President and CEO Mr. Byron F. Marchant ’78

U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Appointee Vice Admiral Joe Leidig ’78, USN (Ret.)

Committee Members Mr. Corbin A. McNeill Jr. ’62 Admiral Richard W. Mies ’67, USN (Ret.) Admiral James O. Ellis ’69, USN (Ret.) General John R. Allen ’76, USMC (Ret.) Admiral Samuel J. Locklear ’77, USN (Ret.) Mr. David M. Robinson ’87

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Missions United States Naval Academy Alumni Association To serve and support the United States, the naval service, the Naval Academy and its alumni; by furthering the highest standards at the Naval Academy; by seeking out, informing, encouraging and assisting outstanding, qualified young men and women to pursue careers as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps through the Naval Academy; and, by initiating and sponsoring activities which will perpetuate the history, traditions, memories and growth of the Naval Academy and bind alumni together in support of the highest ideals of command, citizenship and government.

United States Naval Academy To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

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Navy Blue and Gold Now colleges from sea to sea, may sing of colors true, But who has better right than we, to hoist a symbol hue?

For Sailors brave in battle fair, since fighting days of old Have proved the Sailor’s right to wear, the Navy Blue and Gold.

The 2017 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony marks the 19th year of honoring and celebrating the lives of alumni through the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award program.

Each year, distinguished graduates are honored because of their demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of service, their personal character and the significant contributions they have made to the Navy and Marine Corps or as leaders in industry or government. They are the living embodiment of the Academy’s mission to develop leaders to “assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”

We honor these four individuals for the principles they stand for—today and always.

Admiral Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.) Mr. Milledge A. “Mitch” Hart III ’56 Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson Jr. ’70, USN (Ret.) Admiral Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.) Thank you to the Annapolis Bus Company for generously providing transportation for the 2017 Distinguished Graduate Award recipients.

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