Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be the commencement speaker at the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony on May 26 in Annapolis, Maryland.
Austin will address roughly 1,000 graduating midshipmen, who will go on to serve at least five years as Navy and Marine Corps officers, academy officials said.
The graduation is not open to the public but will be streamed live on the academy’s YouTube page.
During his tenure as defense secretary, Austin has delivered commencement speeches at the nation’s other military academies, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2021 and the Air Force Academy last year.
On Saturday, Austin delivered the commencement address at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, a speech he centered around the importance of public service.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.