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REXBURG, Idaho—Rear Admiral Richard B.
Porterfield, director of naval intelligence, paid tribute to Brady K.
Howell, who died Sept. 11, 2001, in the attacks on the Pentagon, and
encouraged BYU-Idaho students, faculty and area residents to be committed
to service in his address at the university forum Thursday in the Taylor
Chapel.
The forum was the first in an
annual series funded by the Brady K. Howell Fund, which was established by
Howell’s wife, Liz, and other members of his family and was approved by the
BYU-Idaho Board of Trustees.
Porterfield presented the
university with the First Navy Jack, a flag flown on the bow of the ship,
which was recently authorized by the secretary of the Navy to fly on the
bow of all Navy warships until the conclusion of the global war on
terrorism. The Navy Jack, which was originally flown in 1775, pictures a
rattlesnake and the words, “Don’t tread on me.” It signals for the fleet to
engage the enemy and serves as a constant reminder of our nation’s war and
the sacrifices made.
He noted the BYU-Idaho
Activities Program and said that it was important for students to gain the
“teamwork, comradery and spirit” gained from participating rather than
merely spectating.
“That’s going to be one of my
messages today, to see what is in your soul that will allow you to
participate in defense of this country the way that Brady K. Howell did,”
Porterfield said. “It’s a difficult choice. Many people choose to sit back
and just watch, to be spectators in life, and that’s not the way to do it.
The way to do it is like Brady did it. Get out front, make a difference,
cause things to happen.”
He shared a tribute from a
woman named Cindy who worked with Howell at CNO Intelligence Plot.
“He never hoarded information
as if it gave him power,” she said. “Rather, he graciously shared all
knowledge in the hopes of helping others succeed as he had. And that was
how he did everything. That was how he lived, for others, at work, at home,
at his church, everywhere. He touched so many lives.”
Porterfield mentioned three
commonalities among the eight people he lost in Sept. 11, 2001: love of
their job, patriotism and deep religious faith.
“Their faith in God was an
important principle of their [lives]. I think that I see that when I walk
around this campus. I see for the first time in a long time civility,
people who are very polite and well-spoken [and] honest. They care about
each other. It’s very apparent here at Brigham Young University-Idaho, that
whatever is happening here is working, and I would like to capture it and
take it back to Washington with me.”
After briefly describing his
work in intelligence, Porterfield noted the dangers with both Al Qaida and
international terrorists and Iraq, which has weapons of mass destruction.
“We have to be committed as a
nation to stand up and say ‘we will not be overcome by this tyranny.’ The
sense of urgency that our government is expressing today is to prevent the
marriage of Al Qaida and these weapons of mass destruction.”
The danger is a real one,
Porterfield said, but “men and women like Brady and Cindy are doing
something about it. They’re standing for something. They’re committed to
service. I need you to be committed to some service.
“[The Howells are] a family of
service. This is a family who has decided that they’re going to take on the
challenges, they’re going to make a difference in the world, they’re going
to make a difference in this country, because they understand the dangers.
“Each of you in your own way
has that same choice. You can become the participants as President Bednar
is trying to instill, … or you can sit back and hope that someone else does
it. Hope is not a very good course of action. Actively making a difference
in the world is. You’re being presented the tools to do that through your
education here and the experience you gain here. … It’s all about service.
It’s all about commitment. … Come with us. Make a difference.”
Porterfield
became the 60th director of naval intelligence in August 2000. Prior to
this assignment, he was director for intelligence, U.S. Pacific Command. He
served as the fourth JICPAC Commander from July 1996 to August 1998 and was
promoted to rear admiral last January.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval
Academy, he holds a master of science in management from Salve Regina
College, Newport, R.I., and a master of science in national resource
strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington,
D.C.
The next University Forum
speaker will be Sheri L. Dew, president and CEO at Deseret Book. She will
speak Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. in the Taylor Chapel on “communicating with skill
and spirit.”
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