Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Admiral James A.

SIMI VALLEY, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 23, 2014) - The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has announced that United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will be delivering the closing remarks at the upcoming Reagan National Defense Forum, to be held on November 15, 2014. The Reagan National Defense Forum brings together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community -- including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry -- to address the health of our national defense and to stimulate discussions that promote policies to strengthen the United States military into the future. 

Multiple panels will be held throughout the day, with the closing remarks given by Secretary Hagel. The keynote address at lunch, which was to be given by General Martin Dempsey, will now be given by Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The schedule for the all-day conference, with simultaneous panels, is as follows:

7:30am-8:45am Defense After the Election: How Will Midterm Elections and the Start of the Presidential Primaries Impact National Defense?

9:00am-10:15am Heroism and Valor in Today's Battlefield

9:00am-10:15am Reforming How the Pentagon Does Business: What Does It Take to Roll Back the Red Tape?

10:30am-11:45am The U.S. in Europe, the Middle East and Asia: How Do We Strengthen and Build Alliances in the 21 ^st Century?

10:30am-11:45am A View of Defense from Wall Street

12:00pm-1:30pm Keynote Luncheon with Admiral James Winnefeld, Jr., Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

1:45pm-3:00pm Cyberwar: The Role of Cyber in 21 ^st Century Warfare

1:45pm-3:00pm Rethinking the Industrial Base: How Can the Pentagon Capitalize On and Incentivize Innovation

3:15pm-4:30pm From the Situation Room: A View of Defense from the White House

4:45pm-5:15pm Closing Remarks by the Secretary of Defense, The Honorable Chuck Hagel

An Honorary Steering Committee, chaired by Congressman Buck McKeon, includes Robert Gates, Duncan L. Hunter, James Inhofe, Ann McLaughlin Korologos, Carl Levin, Sam Nunn, George Shultz, Adam Smith, John Warner and Pete Wilson.

The registration fee for the conference is $249 per person and includes free admission into the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and Air Force One Pavilion. Active military, government personnel and students are $149 per person. Registration details and more information on the conference can be found at www.reaganfoundation.org/defense . 

An updated list of panelists and attendees include, in alphabetical order:

Department of Defense/Military

• General Joseph Dunford, Commandant, US Marine Corps
• The Honorable Eric Edelman, Former Ambassador to Finland & Turkey, Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
• The Honorable Michele Flournoy, Chief Executive Officer, Center for a New American Security and Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
• The Honorable Robert Gates , Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Former Director of the CIA
• Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor Recipient
• Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, USN
• The Honorable Stephen Hadley, Former National Security Advisor
• The Honorable Chuck Hagel, U.S. Secretary of Defense
• The Honorable Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the U.S. Air Force
• The Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• The Honorable Leon Panetta, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Former Director of the CIA
• The Honorable Stephen Preston, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
• General Arnold Punaro (Ret.), Chairman, National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)
• Admiral Michael S. Rogers, Director, National Security Agency, Chief, Central Security Services Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, USN
• The Honorable Michael Vickers, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
• Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• The Honorable Dov Zakheim, Former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense (CFO)

Elected Officials:

• Senator John McCain, Arizona
• Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, HASC Chairman, California
• Congressman Ken Calvert, California
• Congressman Eric Cantor, Former Congressman, Virginia
• Congressman Randy Forbes, Virginia
• Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Illinois
• Senator Jim Talent, Former Senator, Missouri
• Congressman Mac Thornberry, Texas

Business:

• Mr. Hossein Amir-Aslani, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
• Mr. Denis Bovin, Senior Advisor, Evercore Partners
• Mr. Wes Bush, Chairman, President and CEO, Northrop Grumman
• Mr. Frank Finelli, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group
• The Honorable John Goodman, COO, Accenture Federal Services
• Mr. Pete Hegseth, CEO, Concerned Veterans for America
• Ms. Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corp.
• Mr. David A. Joyce, President and CEO, GE Aviation
• Dr. Thomas Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer, Raytheon
• The Honorable William J. Lynn, III, CEO, DRS Technologies and Finmeccanica NA
• Mr. Stephen R. Perry, Managing Director, Janes Capital Partners
• Mr. Mike Petters, President and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries
• Ms. Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO, SpaceX

Media:

• Mr. Julian Barnes, The Wall Street Journal
• Mr. Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics
• Mr. Doug Cameron, The Wall Street Journal
• Mr. Chris Davenport, The Washington Post
• Ms. Jennifer Griffin, FOX News
• Ms. Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News
• Mr. Thom Shanker, The New York Times
• Ms. Barbara Starr, CNN

Following the day's panels, the evening will conclude with the presentation of the second annual Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award . This year's recipients are Senator John McCain and Secretary Leon Panetta. The Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award recognizes the exemplary dedication and service of individuals in the defense of the United States and its people. The evening award presentation is not a part of the Reagan National Defense Forum conference. As such, ticket holders to the daytime Forum will not be a part of the award presentations. 

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the legacy of Ronald Reagan and his timeless principles of individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride. It sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and The Air Force One Pavilion. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses 63 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It now also serves as the final resting place of America's 40th President.  www.reaganfoundation.org