Honoring the 2017 Distinguished Graduate Award (DGA) recipients:
- ADM Harry D. Train II ’49, USN (Ret.), served as the North American Treaty Organization’s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic while Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command and Commander Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, from 1978 to 1982.
- Milledge A. Hart III ’56, founder or co-founder of seven companies, including Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and The Home Depot.
- The Honorable James Webb ’68, 66th Secretary of the Navy and former U.S. Senator from Virginia.
- VADM Cutler Dawson ’70, USN (Ret.), president and CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union.
- ADM Eric T. Olson ’73, USN (Ret.), former Commander, United States Special Operations Command. The first Navy SEAL to reach three- and four-star rank and the first naval officer to command U.S. Special Operations Command.
Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients by Class Year
The Distinguished Graduate Award (DGA) program started as a concept first envisioned by Rear Admiral Ronald F. Marryott, USN (Ret.), Class of 1957, when he was president and CEO of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association. Rear Admiral Robert McNitt, USN (Ret.), Class of 1938, helped develop the concept to its current structure. The Alumni Association’s Board of Trustees approved the DGA proposal and in May 1998 the selection committee met under the chairmanship of Admiral Carlisle Trost, USN (Ret.), Class of 1953 to determine the nominating process. Distinguished Graduates are the embodiment of what we strive to achieve in the U.S. Naval Academy’s mission:
“To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.”
As an institution, we honor our Distinguished Graduates because of their:
- Demonstrated and unselfish commitment to a lifetime of service to our nation
- Personal character which epitomizes the traits we expect in our officer corps
- Significant contributions as Navy and Marine Corps officers, or as leaders in industry or government
Each of them serves as a beacon, lighting the way for our midshipmen as they begin to chart their naval careers. They also serve by example to motivate those alumni serving in the Fleet and Fleet Marine Corps. Our midshipmen can take away much from learning about our distinguished graduates. All the Distinguished Graduates honored – lived the traits of lifetime commitment to service, personal character and distinguished contributions to our nation.
2017 DGA Medal Ceremony
31 March 2017
1600 – Alumni Hall
Classmates of 2017 recipients wishing to attend the medal ceremony and sit in the reserved class section, please RSVP by emailing events@usna.com General seating will also be available. Regrets not necessary.