On Shifting Ground

The Department of the Navy, led by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, has in the past year made bold moves to change the way energy is used in its operational Navy and Marine forces, maintaining that our country dependency on fossil fuels constitutes a clear strategic and tactical vulnerability. Since announcing in October 2009 new energy targets that will dramatically increase the amount of alternative energy used in the Department by 2020, the Navy has flown a fighter jet, the Green Hornet, on a grain-based biofuel, awarded significant solar energy contracts throughout the Southwest, and signed agreements with the Department of Agriculture to pool their collective knowledge of renewable energy. These measures promise to be only the beginning of a decade-long campaign to reform the Navy energy infrastructure.Ray Mabus is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy. As Secretary, he leads America Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing. Prior to becoming Secretary of the Navy, Mabus served as Governor of Mississippi and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He was a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.Hosted by the World Affairs Council of Northern California in partnership with the Marine Memorial Association.

Direct download: 08-17-10_Ray_Mabus.mp3
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With nearly 380,000 soldiers in over 700 bases currently deployed around the world, and a national defense manufacturing sector employing thousands of Americans at home, has the US become dependent on a never ending war? Andrew Bacevich, professor of history and international relations at Boston University, will discuss the origins of the American military complex and question whether the nation should continue to maintain a permanent armed presence around the world. Bacevich is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and has been a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He authored The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, among other books, and his op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

Direct download: 08_12_10_Andrew_Bacevich.mp3
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Admiral Roughead is a 1973 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and is the first naval officer to command both classes of Aegis ships, Destroyer and Cruiser, and is one of only two officers in history to command both US Naval fleets in the Pacific and Atlantic, where he was responsible for ensuring Navy forces were trained, ready, equipped and prepared to operate around the world, where and when needed. He also commanded Cruiser Destroyer Group 2, the George Washington Battle Group; and US 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic and Naval Forces North Fleet East. Ashore, he has served as Commandant, United States Naval Academy, the Department of the Navy Chief of Legislative Affairs, and as Deputy Commander of the US Pacific Command. Among the Admiral many awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and various unit and service awards. Now serving as one of the US Navy highest ranking officials, Admiral Roughead joins the Council to discuss the US Navy global influence and the emerging security environment.

Direct download: 08-05-10_Admiral_Gary_Roughead.mp3
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