2023 Admiral Arleigh Burke Banquet

Please plan to attend our annual banquet in honor of Admiral Arleigh Burke, to be held on Friday, April 28th, at the University Club of Denver. 

We are privileged to have an exceptional speaker at this year's banquet whose experiences and insights from over four decades of service with the U.S. Navy and State Department are particularly relevant to current events in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Admiral Harris (USNA ’78) served 40 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring on 1 June 2018.  As the first officer from the Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance community to achieve 4-stars, he held several major fleet commands over his naval career, including command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 6th Fleet, and Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1.  He participated in Operations Attain Document (Libya 1986), Desert Shield/Storm, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Willing Spirit (Colombian hostage recovery 2008), and Odyssey Dawn (Libya 2011).  Following his retirement from the Navy, he joined the State Department, serving as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from July 2018 to January 2021. 

A Naval Flight Officer, Admiral Harris has flown over 4400 hours, including over 400 combat hours.  His personal decorations include the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, the CIA's Agency Seal Medal, the CIA's Ambassador's Award, and numerous DoD and Navy awards.  He was born in Japan, reared in Tennessee and Florida, and graduated from USNA in 1978. 

The banquet starts with cocktails (cash bar) at 18:00 followed by dinner (including wine) at 19:00.  The attire is coat & tie.