By Kenneth A. Stewart

NPS students listen to a commencement address by Deputy Secretary of Defense and NPS alumnus the Honorable Robert O. Work during the Spring Quarter Graduation ceremony at King Auditorium, June 19. Some 290 graduates from every U.S. branch of service and 19 countries, earning 296 advanced degrees, were recognized at the ceremony.

NPS President retired Vice Adm. Ronald A. Route welcomed Work and challenged the assembled student body to recall the purpose of their studies, as they leave NPS prepared to do great things.

"On a day like today, while you reflect on your accomplishments and look ahead towards an uncertain future in a changing and often violent world, we are reminded of our call to service. It is our hope and expectation that you leave here prepared to serve, and prepared to do something great," said Route.

Prior to addressing the graduating class, Route and NPS Provost Dr. Douglas Hensler presented Work with NPS' Distinguished Alumni Award, noting Work's "extraordinary leadership," his contributions to military service, and his "unsurpassed and continued support of graduate education and the Naval Postgraduate School."

For work, returning to NPS was a homecoming of sorts. He is a graduate of the university's Space Systems Operations program and started a family here while completing his graduate education. He was pleased to be away from the Pentagon and back in Monterey.

"When my friends and family ask me about what it's like to be the Deputy Secretary of Defense, I remind them of the tethered goat in Jurassic park," he quipped. "Any time I can escape the game reserve known as the Pentagon, I know it is going to be a beautiful day."

To the assembled student body, Work gave an assessment of the current state of the U.S. military and its once unsurpassed technological superiority. He also discussed the challenges that the U.S. is facing, as its "unipolar moment" as the world's sole super-power comes to an end, and rival nations begin to assert themselves across the world's stage.

"We are at a pivotal moment in our history. We are coming out of more than 14 years of hard fighting, including the longest war in our nation's history," he said. "We are witnessing a more multipolar world where American leadership is being increasingly challenged, perhaps no more so than in the military realm.

"Such challenging and uncertain times demand that America's best and brightest step forward to lead, because to preserve the peace we must continue to project combat power around the world no matter what threats we may face," Work continued.

Finally, Work challenged the graduating class to be innovative and to seek new solutions and better business practices. He closed his comments with a humorous anecdote that he feels exemplifies the out-of-the-box spirit and intelligence of U.S. fighting men and women.

His story centered on a group of Marines in Afghanistan who come over a clearing to see four Afghan individuals with a donkey cart, doing something visually suspicious on the roadside. To the Marines, it looked like they were emplacing an IED, Work said. As the Marines approached, the men fled leaving the donkey and the cart behind.

As suspected, the Marines found explosives inside the cart, Work continued. The Marines' quick thinking squad leader unhooked the donkey, and followed behind as it traveled back to a village and then stopped in front of a hut. Upon inspection, sure enough, there were four men inside who each tested positive for explosive residue, and they were detained.

Later, when asked by the battalion commander how the young squad leader knew to unhook the donkey to find the men, the Marine replied, "Well, sir, it's very simple. I was born on a farm and I serve in the Marine Corps. I have been following jackasses my whole life," concluded Work to a round of laughter and applause.