Event: August 24, 2010

Vice Admiral William E. Gortney will give his perspectives on challenges facing the United States in the region.  Admiral Gortney recently assumed his new duty as Executive Director of the Joint Staff. From 2008 to 2010 he was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command a tour in which he supported combat operations for OIF and OEF, developed strategies for dealing with potential threats to U.S., Allied and partner forces from Iran and led his command in various maritime security operations including counter-piracy. Admiral Gortney's years at NAVCENT were his third command tour in the CENTCOM AOR. The first was Carrier Air Wing 7 onboard the JFK in support of OEF in 2002 and the second was Carrier Strike Group 10 onboard the Harry S. Truman in support of OIF and maritime security operations from 2007 to 2008. A naval aviator, Admiral Gorney has flown over 5360 flight hours and made 1,265 carrier arrested landings. He is a graduate of Elon College in North Carolina and holds a MA degree in International Security Affairs from the Naval War College.