Vice Admiral Kendall Card

Following his graduation from Vanderbilt University in 1977 with a degree in mechanical engineering, retired Vice Admiral Kendall Card was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He began his naval career as an aviator, flying helicopters from the decks of the aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Saratoga, USS Enterprise, and others in tours at sea that included operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After his successful command of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Fifteen and his graduation from the Navy’s Nuclear Power School, he was promoted to commanding officer of the USS Rainier. In 2002 he became commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, overseeing 5,600 sailors and marines in operations Enduring Freedom, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom as well as in Operation Unified Assistance in support of tsunami relief for Indonesia.

 Kendall was later promoted to Rear Admiral and held leadership positions in communications and intelligence. He first served as director of command control systems for the Navy’s North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado. His next major assignment was to the Pentagon, where he served as director of concepts, strategies, and integration for information dominance on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. In his final Pentagon assignment as a three-star admiral, he concurrently served as deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance and the 64th director of naval intelligence.

 Upon retiring from the military in 2013, Kendall joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory as director of U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community Integration for the Global Security Directorate. In this role he focuses on leveraging the lab’s scientific and technological advancements to tackle the nation’s most pressing defense and security challenges with an emphasis on building partnerships with other U.S. government agencies.

 In addition to his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, Kendall holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. His awards include the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and Bronze Star.

 Kendall and his wife, Becky, have two children and six grandchildren and are avid baseball fans. His favorite activities include exercising, which he does often, and golfing, which he does poorly.