ADMIRAL JAMES G. FOGGO, USN, (RETIRED)

Adm. James G. Foggo, retired U.S. Navy, is currently serving as the dean for the Center for Maritime Strategy at the Navy League of the United States. A retired four-star admiral, Foggo is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He is also an Olmsted Scholar and Moreau Scholar, earning a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University and a Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies in defense and strategic studies from the University of Strasbourg, France.

He commanded the attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) in 1998, which was awarded the Submarine Squadron 8 Battle Efficiency “E” award and the Admiral Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, for being the most improved ship in the Atlantic Fleet.

Following command of USS Oklahoma City, he would go on to command eight more times to include: Submarine Squadron 6 in Norfolk, Virginia; Submarine Group 8; Allied Submarines South; the U.S. 6th Fleet; Allied Striking and Support Forces NATO; Naval Forces Europe; Naval Forces Africa; and Allied Joint Forces Command (NATO), all headquartered in Naples, Italy.

During these command tours, he participated in combat operations as the Operations Officer for Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn (Libya) in 2011 and Commander Naval Forces Europe for strike operations against Syrian chemical weapons sites in April 2018.

Throughout his career, Foggo has been a champion of the Navy as an extended arm of diplomacy. He maintained close relationships with the U.S. ambassadors in his area of responsibility from Europe to Africa and into the Middle East. He sponsored numerous regional ambassadors conferences at his headquarters in Naples to address security challenges in the Balkans, Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. Throughout 2021, he taught a seminar at the Foreign Service Institute on civil-military relations for rising foreign service officers. In November 2021, Foggo was named to the American Academy of Diplomacy as one of a handful of retired flag officers who serve alongside more than 200 retired ambassadors with the common goal of enhancing American diplomacy around the globe.

Foggo is a distinguished fellow of the Center for European Policy Analysis and a distinguished fellow of the Council on Competitiveness. He is a member of the board of directors of the Olmsted Foundation and the Naval Historical Foundation. He occupies a seat on the editorial board of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Explorer’s Club of New York.
His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and NATO Meritorious Service Medal. In addition, he is the recipient of the French Chevalier de l’Ordre National de Merité and the Legion d’Honneur, the Cross of Saint George (Portugal), the White Cross of the Naval Order of the Spanish Armada, the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada, the rank of Commendatore from the President of Italy, and Knight of the Grand Cross of Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

MS. HEATHER PENNEY

Heather Penney is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, where she conducts extensive research on cutting-edge defense policy with a focus on the leveraging the critical advantage that only aerospace power affords.

Prior to joining Mitchell, Penney worked over a decade in the defense industry focusing on defense budgets, supporting program execution, and capturing campaign management. She served in the Washington, DC Air National Guard flying F-16s and G-100s; she has also served in the Air Force Reserve in the National Military Command Center. She has also lectured extensively on subjects such as Air Force capabilities and force structure, organizational command and control, reforming the defense personnel system, and other defense policy issues to a broad number of organizations, universities, and military institutions.

She’s a recognized expert on defense policy issues concerning data rights, unmanned systems, software Senior Resident Fellow the Mitchell Institute maintenance and operations, autonomy, and force structure considerations. Penney is established voice on Mosaic warfare, JADC2, and future operational concepts associated with information architectures.

Penney received her undergraduate degree from Purdue University, majoring in English with a minor in Philosophy. She earned her MA in American Studies from Purdue University as well.