Speaker

Adm. Kurt Tidd graduated in 1974 from Porter-Gaud School, Charleston, South Carolina, and was commissioned from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978, with a degree in foreign area studies. Selected in 1984 as an Olmsted Foundation Scholar, Tidd is a French linguist with a master's degree in political science from the University of Bordeaux, France. He also is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and was a Federal Executive fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States. At sea, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet. Ashore, he served as the 35th assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the joint staff director and vice director for Operations (J3).