I am pleased to announce today the names of four outstanding leaders who have agreed to serve as the Department’s representatives to the Congressionally-mandated commission on the naming of items of the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederate States of America.
They are:
- Admiral Michelle Howard, U.S. Navy, retired
- General Bob Neller, U.S. Marine Corps, retired
- Dr. Kori Schake, Director of Foreign & Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
- Brigadier General Ty Seidule, U.S. Army, retired (Emeritus Professor of History, U.S. Military Academy)
Each of these individuals possesses unique and relevant experience, in and out of government, that I know will inform this important effort. I am enormously grateful for their willingness to serve the nation again, and I thank them in advance for the wise counsel I am confident they will provide.
I also thank the Congress for establishing this process, and I continue to pledge my personal commitment – and that of the Department – to making sure it succeeds. I look forward to seeing the results of the commission’s work in the months ahead.