10th Archivist of the United States / Navy Vietnam Veteran

Mr. David Ferriero

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

A lively discussion between the Continental Commandery Commander and the National Archivist about the role of the National Archives, the history of the Archives, and a perspective on the collection.

Previously, Mr. Ferriero served as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL). He was part of the leadership team responsible for integrating the four research libraries and 87 branch libraries into one seamless service for users, creating the largest public library system in the United States and one of the largest research libraries in the world. Mr. Ferriero was in charge of collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research services; and education, programming, and exhibitions.

Among his responsibilities at the NYPL was the development of the library’s digital strategy, which currently encompasses partnerships with Google and Microsoft, a website that reaches more than 25 million unique users annually, and a digital library of more than 750,000 images that may be accessed free of charge by any user around the world.

Before joining the NYPL in 2004, Mr. Ferriero served in top positions at two of the nation’s major academic libraries, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, and Duke University in Durham, NC. In those positions, he led major initiatives including the expansion of facilities, the adoption of digital technologies, and a reengineering of printing and publications.

13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

MCPOCG Jason Vanderhaden

Wednesday, June 24, 2020 

A dialogue about leadership and the importance of the Master Chief Petty of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG).  Former MCPOCG, Vincent Patton, Ph.D. also shares his perspectives and insights.

Jason M. Vanderhaden is a retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from May 17, 2018 to May 19, 2022. As MCPOCG, Vanderhaden served as the principal advisor to the Commandant of the Coast Guard on all enlisted personnel matters.

Command Master Chief Vanderhaden is a native of Tallahassee, FL. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in May of 1988. Master Chief Vanderhaden’s previous assignments include Command Master Chief Pacific Area, Command Master Chief 13th Coast Guard District, Command Master Chief Base Honolulu, Chief Petty Officer Academy, USCGC Reliance, Station Ponce de Leon Inlet, USCGC Active, Air Station Humboldt Bay, USCGC Cheyenne, Air Station Clearwater, LORAN Station Iwo Jima, FS “A” School, Station Jones Beach, and Station Short Beach. 

Vanderhaden is a graduate of Class 114 of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, the National Defense University’s Keystone Command Joint Senior Enlisted Leader Course, the Harvard Kennedy School Leadership in Homeland Security Course and other service-related schools. Vanderhaden holds a Bachelor of Science from Excelsior University. Vanderhaden is also a graduate of the International Academy of Gourmet Chefs where he was honored to be Valedictorian of the graduating class of 2018.

Navy Safe Harbor Foundation

RADM Christopher Cole & Mrs. Heidi Weller

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

An inspiring discussion about how the Navy supports wounded Navy veterans and their families.  Please ask for more information about how you can get involved with the Navy Safe Harbor Foundation.

Rear Admiral Cole, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., graduated in 1971 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and was commissioned through the NROTC Program. He reported to Navy flight training in July, 1971 and was designated a Naval Aviator in October, 1972.

At sea, he served as operations officer of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 5 aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69); and executive officer and commanding officer of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 4 “Helicopters from Hell” aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), deploying in support of Operation Earnest Will (Arabian Gulf). He next served as Navigator aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm (Iraq). Selected for ship command, he commanded USS El Paso (LKA 117) and deployed to the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea for Operation Restore Hope (Somalia). He then reported to USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) as executive officer and subsequently as commanding officer, deploying to the Mediterranean for NATO Operation Deny Flight (Bosnia).

Flag assignments include Commander US Naval Forces Korea and Naval Component Commander, United Nations Command in Seoul, Republic of Korea; Commander Naval Region Mid-Atlantic; and Director of Ashore Readiness on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N-46). 

Military Historian; currently curator of military history at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History 

Dr. Frank A. Blazich Jr.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Topic: "Lighterage Lead the Way - Word War II Logistics Support"

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Frank Blazich, Jr. specializes in the American military experience in the twentieth century. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he holds a doctorate in modern American history from The Ohio State University (2013). Following his doctoral studies, Blazich served as the historian at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, California before moving to Washington, D.C. to serve as a historian in the History and Archives Division of Naval History and Heritage Command. From June to December 2016, Blazich served as the historian on Task Force Netted Navy working for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

In January 2017, he assumed his current position as curator of modern military history at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. His first edited book, Bataan Survivor: A POW’s Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II, was published by the University of Missouri Press in February 2017. He most recent book project, “An Honorable Place in American Air Power”: Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Operations, 1943-1943, is slated for publication by Air University Press in late 2020. 

Candid conversation with the distinguished co-author of:  Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton

Tayler Baldwin Kiland

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Reflections on High Performance Teams derived from the life and events of the prisoners of war held at the "Hanoi Hilton" in North Vietnam.

Why were the American POWs imprisoned at the “Hanoi Hilton” so resilient in captivity and so successful in their subsequent careers? This book presents six principles practiced within the POW organizational culture that can be used to develop high-performance teams everywhere. The authors offer examples from both the POWs’ time in captivity and their later professional lives that identify, in real-life situations, the characteristics necessary for sustainable, high-performance teamwork. Taylor Baldwin Kiland and Peter Fretwell show readers how to apply these principles to their own organizations and create a culture with staying power.

Originally intending their book to focus on fighter pilot James Stockdale’s leadership style, the authors found that his approach toward completing a mission was to assure that it could be accomplished without him. Stockdale, they explain, had created a mission-centric organization, not a leader-centric organization. He understood that a truly sustainable culture must not be dependent on a single individual.