BENS Eisenhower Award
To an audience of over 550 industry and national security leaders in Washington, D.C., BENS on April 13th presented the 2017 Eisenhower Award to U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford and Texas Ranger's Principal Owner, Ray C. Davis. The evening also gave further recognition to retired Army Colonel Gregory Gadson.
General Dunford, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has one of the most distinguished military careers in uniform. He is the only Marine to have served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The General accepted on behalf of all the men and women of the Armed Forces.
Mr. Davis, in addition to being a titan in industry and finance and co-owner of one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball, has focused on improving the lives of American service members and their families. Through his support of the Military Wellness Initiative, which he launched with Congressman Mac Thornberry in March 2016, Mr. Davis is working to create and test new holistic and persistent approaches to military wellness. The program aims to empower our service members and place them at the center of a comprehensive health network.
Colonel Gadson is emblematic of the enduring strength and perseverance of military service members, continuing to serve and command despite losing both legs from an improvised explosive device attack in Iraq. His commitment to service inspired the New York Giants to go on to win the Super Bowl in 2008 and culminated as the Garrison Commander of Fort Belvoir where he oversaw 50,000 military personnel.
The Eisenhower Award annually recognizes public servants and private citizens who have made considerable contributions toward President Dwight Eisenhower’s comprehensive definition of national security, described as, “…the total product of our economic, intellectual, moral and military strength." Both public servants and private citizens have been selected by members of the BENS Board of Directors to receive the Award. Past recipients have included, among others, President Jimmy Carter; Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Condoleezza Rice; Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta, Robert Gates, William Perry, and William Cohen; Senators Richard Lugar, Sam Nunn, Carl Levin, John McCain and John Warner; Generals James Jones, John Abizaid, Chuck Boyd and Michael Hayden; Admirals William McRaven, James Stavridis, and Eric Olson; and business leaders Jeff Bezos, Kevin Plank, Norm Augustine, Raphael Benaroya, Denis Bovin, Mary and David Boies, Fred Smith, Robert Rubin, Maurice Greenberg, Josh Weston, and Stanley Weiss. Click here for a full list of recipients.