Defense Writers Group
June 21, 2022
Moderator: Good afternoon and welcome. I’m Thom Shanker. I’m the Director of the Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University. I welcome all of you to this Defense Writers Group. We’re honored to have Meredith A. Berger who has just corrected me. She has one title now, not two. She is the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment. It sounds to me like more than enough to do during the day.
The ground rules are this is on the record, but nothing is for rebroadcast -- audio or video. Please record it for your own accuracy. I’ll ask the first question, and then some of you emailed in advance to get on the questioners list. We’ll go around the table. And others who aren’t on the list, of course, there will be time for you, and then a few minutes before the hour I’ll ask Ms. Berger to wrap up.
Thank you so much for being here. This topic is absolutely -- I don’t want to say I’m obsessed with climate and national security but being a very traditional national security guy from 9/11 onward, I find this topic very, very important. So can you talk a little bit about how the Navy sees climate change as increasing risk globally? And the second part, how does climate change make executing on the Navy mission harder?
A/S Berger: Sure. Thank you for the kind invitation. It’s nice to spend time with all of you. I think often it’s voices, so it’s nice to see faces.
