Dennis Blair (US Navy officer)

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Dennis C. Blair
1946-

Admiral Dennis C. Blair
Place of birth Kittery, Maine
Service/branch U.S. Navy
Years of service 1968-2002
Rank Admiral
Commands Pacific Command
Awards Legion of Merit (4)
Other work President, Institute for Defense Analyses

Dennis Blair (born 1946) is the immediate past President of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a U.S. Government think-tank in the Washington D.C. area focused on national security.

Blair was born in Kittery, Maine in 1946, and was a 6th generation naval officer. He attended St. Andrew's School (1964) and, as a classmate of Oliver North and James H. Webb, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. Following his graduation from the Naval Academy, he started his career with an assignment aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Tattnall (DDG-19), followed by a Rhodes Scholar, majoring in Russian studies at Oxford University, during the same time future president Bill Clinton studied there. He served as a White House Fellow from 1975 to 1976 with Wesley Clark and Marshall Carter, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

His last job in the military was Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Pacific Command, the highest ranking officer over all U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, he was Director of the Joint Staff in the Office of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and served in budget and policy positions on several major Navy staffs, and the National Security Council staff. He was also the first Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. He retired from the U.S. Navy in 2002.

His membership on the board of directors of EDO Corporation, a subcontractor for the F-22 Raptor fighter program, and ownership of its stock was raised as a potential conflict of interest after the IDA issued a study that endorsed a three-year contract for the program. Blair told the Washington Post, "My review was not affected at all by my association with EDO Corp., and the report was a good one." He originally chose not to recuse himself because his link to EDO was not of sufficient "scale" to require it, but subsequently resigned from the EDO board to avoid any misperceptions.

His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with three gold stars, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and National Defense Service Medal with one star as well as numerous other campaign and service awards.[1]

Blair is somewhat renowned in U.S. Naval circles for nearly succeeding in an attempt to water ski behind his Destroyer when he was the Skipper. Blair currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Diane.

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