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News Release

Contact:
Stephanie L. Tennyson
703-525-0770
stennyson [at] potomacinstitute[dot]org

Arlington , VA ( September 24, 2007) —James Arden “Jamie” Barnett, Jr., a Rear Admiral in the Navy Reserve and an attorney, mostly recently on active duty as the Acting Deputy Director of Expeditionary Warfare and the Acting Deputy Director of Surface Warfare on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, has joined the Institute as a Senior Research Fellow.

“The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is delighted to make this addition to our senior staff. Jamie’s expertise in constitutional law, strategy and planning, policy development, expeditionary warfare, state and local government, and education and training will add breadth and depth to the Institute’s research efforts. His guidance to our new Center for Neurotechnology Studies will be invaluable,” said Michael Swetnam, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Potomac Institute.

Jamie Barnett joined Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in 2007 as a Senior Research Fellow, bringing with him experience from over thirty years in the U.S. Navy and from his career in private law practice. A Rear Admiral (lower half) in the Navy Reserve, he served on active duty as Director of Navy Education and Training in the Pentagon during the crucial overhaul of the Navy’s Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education organization. He led a task force on developing a Navy Education Strategy and served on the Board of Advisors for the Naval Postgraduate School. His most recent active duty assignments include Acting Deputy Director of Expeditionary Warfare and Acting Deputy Director of Surface Warfare on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. His current Reserve assignment is Deputy Commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Little Creek, Virginia.

In 2001, then Captain Barnett was recalled to active duty in Washington, D.C. to serve as a change manager and project lead in the Navy’s Revolution in Training (Task Force EXCEL) that was chartered to revolutionize the Navy’s training establishment, inject the science of learning, and create learning centers of excellence. He played a leadership role in designing the new training organization, including the Navy Personnel Development Command, the Center for Naval Leadership and the Human Performance Center. He was subsequently given command of the Center for Personal Development, charged with the responsibility for delivering college education to Navy members worldwide as well as training in ethics, diversity, finance, fitness, among others. He was awarded the first of three Legion of Merit medals for his work at the Center.

Mr. Barnett’s Navy career has focused on the Middle East and Africa ever since his first deployment there aboard USS JONAS INGRAM (DD-938) in 1977. He served as Executive Officer of the Military Sealift Command Office in Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia during OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM, and he later commanded Military Sealift Command units dedicated to the North and South Persian Gulf areas. His other commands include Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit 207, a Naval Coastal Warfare unit based in Jacksonville, Florida.

In civilian life, Mr. Barnett advised and represented thousands of governmental officials and entities as an attorney, in the board room and in state and federal court during eighteen years of private practice. His clients included cities, counties, school districts, law enforcement agencies and development authorities, providing legal and policy advice on a range of topics, including constitutional law, governmental liability, personnel and employment law, education and school law, policy development, legislation, procurement, and ethics. He was a board attorney for several school districts, and has served as the President of the Council of School Board Attorneys in Mississippi. He received the statewide Exceptional Service Award for his work for the Pro Bono Project, and he was named the state’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in 1989. He has presented continuing legal education seminars in constitutional law, school law and ethics.

Mr. Barnett received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1984, where he was named the Dean Parham Williams Outstanding Student and served as Chairman of the Moot Court Board.

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit policy research institute that provides nonpartisan analysis of science, technology and national security policy to leaders in government, industry and academia. With a reputation for fierce objectivity, the Institute has conducted studies on a wide range of science, technology and policy topics, including defense acquisition reform, dual use technology, technology forecasting and transition, cyber-terrorism and biological terrorism.

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