Former Director of National Intelligence
This year, NROTC UC Berkeley is proud to present Admiral Dennis C. Blair at the annual Nimitz Lecture Series. Admiral Blair currently serves as a director and advisors to National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, the Energy Security Leadership Council of Securing America’s Future Energy, and Freedom House. Admiral Blair has also served on the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federally funded research and development center, that supports the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Community; the Atlantic Council; Project for National Security Reform; the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; Lockheed Martin Space Systems; and The Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Group. Admiral Blair has also authored, Military Engagement: Influencing Armed Forces Worldwide to Support Democratic Transitions, published in June 2013.
As Director of National Intelligence, from January 2009 to May 2010, Blair led sixteen national intelligence agencies, managed a budget of $50 billion and provided integrated intelligence support to the President, Congress, and operations in the field.
During his 34-year Navy career, Blair served on guided missile destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and commanded the Kitty Hawk Battle Group. Ashore, he served as Director of the Joint Staff and held budget and policy positions on the National Security Council and several major Navy staffs. Prior to retiring from the Navy in 2002, Blair served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, the largest of the combatant commands.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Blair earned a master’s degree in history and languages from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, and was a White House fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has been awarded four Defense Distinguished Service medals, three National Intelligence Distinguished Service medals, and has received decorations from the governments of Japan, Thailand, Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.