Professor Woodward and Dave Diaz’s Keynote Address for 250th Navy and Marine Corps Birthday
To celebrate 250th birthday of the United States’ Navy and Marine Corps, John D. Woodward, Jr. Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies, and F. David Diaz (MAIA ’02), Pardee Alum and former Foreign Affairs Officer for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and U.S. Department of State, delivered keynote remarks at the Boston Naval ROTC Consortium on Friday, November 7, 2025. The event was hosted by the Communication Research Center (CRC) at Boston University.
The speakers addressed their audience comprising of the Midshipmen battalion from Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern and Boston College, as well as active duty officers and enlisted marines. Diaz’s remarks touched on National Security and instruments for national power; Diplomacy, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME). Considering how these young Midshipmen are preparing for their future military service, Diaz asked, “What can I as a Midshipman and future officer do to prepare myself to be an effective leader in an uncertain environment?” Max Labaczewski, economics and mathematics student at Boston University, concluded in his reflection, “it is imperative to look at issues from a broader perspective to allow leaders to anticipate what could happen next.”
To honor this significant occasion, the Marine Corps have hosted public events and celebrations across the country, including two national-level capstone events at the beginning and end of the year, and six multi-day outreach events called Marine Weeks. These events took place in Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta, concluding in Washington, DC at the Commandant’s Birthday Ball on November 10th.
The Boston Naval ROTC Consortium is a collaborative program based primarily at Boston University that prepares students from multiple Boston-area universities, for commissioning as officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. The consortium allows students from to attend leadership labs, physical training, and Naval Science classes together at a central location, typically hosted by one of the member schools. Its mission is to develop midshipmen mentally, morally, and physically to serve as commissioned officers. To learn more about the ROTC program at Boston University, visit their website.
John D. Woodward, Jr. is the Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. A former CIA officer, he has served as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service and as a technical intelligence officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology. Woodward, Jr. is a published author and has contributed to prominent news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.