9-11 Remembrances from Washington by Diane Morales

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers and Washington’s Pentagon shattered the nation’s sense of security and changed all of us, forever.

Our special Rotary Program, “9-11 Remembrances from Washington,” will focus on 4 themes:

1)    The Pentagon attack, which resulted in 184 fatalities (125 inside the Pentagon, 59 passengers and crew and three terrorists), and inflicted severe structural collapse across multiple areas of the building.
2)    The days before and after the attack.
3)    How President George W. Bush and the Department of Defense responded to the new worldwide terrorist threats.
4)    An evaluation of the present-day U.S. Global War on terrorism, its successes, and failures.

Our speaker, Houston-born and recently returned from D.C., The Honorable Diane K. Morales, is well-qualified to discuss the 9/11 events and Government policies since she had an office in the Pentagon building and saw the attack, had responsibility for 21,000 employees with a $35 billion dollar budget as a Dept of Defense Under Secretary. She has worked for three Presidents, (Reagan, Bush 1, and Bush 2), and was a D.C. based government official during Afghanistan, “Operation Desert Storm,” the second Iraq War that followed 9/11 and the terrorist attacks.

Please plan to attend and invite your friends to this important program presented by an acknowledged expert in the field who has “BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.”

Joe Colangelo
Rotary Club of Houston
Program Committee

THE HONORABLE DIANE K. MORALES: "9-11 Remembrances from Washington"
 

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION BY AMBASSADOR CHASE UNTERMEYER

Diane Morales is a native Houstonian who was Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness in the second Bush Administration. She was driving to the Pentagon when she saw the plane hit the building. Come hear a remarkable story.

HONORABLE DIANE K. MORALES 

After a career in defense logistics, Diane Morales has served on the boards of The Salvation Army National Area Command, the supporting Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary of Washington DC and Houston TX, The Wolf Trap Foundation [National Park for the Performing Arts], the Houston Symphony, the supporting Houston Symphony League, two wounded veteran organizations [Operation Second Chance and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing], Academy Women [a leadership-mentoring organization for female graduates of the various military academies], the Washington DC Capital Speakers Club, the National Job Corps, and the American Cancer Society/Virginia.

During the administration of President George W. Bush, Ms. Morales served as Deputy Under Secretary of Logistics and Materiel Readiness for the Department of Defense [DoD].  In addition to the directorates of supply, transportation, logistics information systems, maintenance, material readiness, and logistics planning, the Defense Logistics Agency [a combat support agency with more than 21,000 employees operating a $35 billion business] reported directly to her. She served in that capacity at the start of the war in Afghanistan and the second Iraq War, following 9/11. She was named one of the top 20 Logistics and Supply Chain Executives in the United States for 2002-2003.

Previously, Ms. Morales was president of Defense Management Services [DMS], Inc., a logistics/supply chain management consulting services firm. During the administration of President George H.W. Bush, Ms. Morales served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics where she coordinated a comprehensive post-Cold War restructuring of defense logistics to consolidate and streamline organizations and operations with the mission to save $7 billion dollars over seven years.  Ms. Morales served in this capacity during Operation Desert Storm and played a substantial role in addressing airlift and sealift requirements. Counterterrorism for the Central Intelligence Agency.