NPS Says Farewell to Fall Quarter Graduates
Today@NPS
NPS Says Farewell to Fall Quarter Graduates
By Kenneth A. Stewart
Chair of the NPS Board of Advisors retired Vice Adm. Lee Gunn addresses NPS' Fall Quarter graduates in King Auditorium, Dec. 18. NPS said farewell to 331 graduates earning 333 degrees from 29 countries during the ceremony.
"I would like to speak on behalf of the thousands of graduates of NPS around the world. We would like to be a part of your life, and a part of your conversations," said Gunn, whose active duty military career spanned 35 years including three years as the Navy Inspector General.
Throughout Gunn's address, he offered the graduating class a series of recommendations that he gleaned from his long naval career and from his childhood on the island of Pompeii, where he accompanied his father after WWII.
"I grew up loving and respecting Sailors, but not just Sailors … all men and women that put on the cloth of their nations," said Gunn.
From those service members, Gunn learned the importance of "people, competence, humility, paying attention, and staying ahead."
"You already know what it means to lead people. Imagine what your people will expect of you in your next assignment," he challenged.
In closing, Gunn encouraged the graduating students to be involved in the immediate world around them.
"There is nothing more important than paying attention, nothing more vital than staying engaged and staying in the moment," said Gunn. "… [And] you must continue to anticipate problems and prepare for risk."