RDML Jamie Barnett
Last Name: Barnett
First Name: James
Middle Name: Arden
Suffix: Jr
Nickname: Jamie
Medals and Honors: Legion of Merit (4)
ACNSL Offices and Committees: Chair of the Board, Board of Directors
Rank: Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
Service/Department: U.S. Navy
Last or Significant Assignment: Deputy Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
Areas of Experience: Cybersecurity
Articles, Books and Publications:
https://www.newsweek.com/americans-should-never-use-torture-any-circumstances-340062
Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Washington Post, 24 July 2008, reprinted in Star Tribune
Jamie Barnett is the Chair of the Board, and one of the founders, of the American College of National Security Leaders (ACNSL), a non-partisan group of retired ambassadors, admirals, generals and senior government executives in national security, diplomacy, and defense. ACNSL advocates for common sense, whole-of-government solutions to the national security challenges facing the United States. He is a former advisor to National Security Action.
A surface warfare officer, he has over 30 years of experience in the United States Navy and Navy Reserve, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral and serving as Deputy Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Director of Naval Education and Training in the Pentagon. Among other personal awards, he has received four Legion of Merit medals.
In addition to his military service, Admiral Barnett served as the Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission where he executed major cybersecurity initiatives. As Chief of the Bureau, Admiral Barnett created the Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division at the FCC. He also led major rulemakings and projects in public safety interoperability, emergency alerting and Next Generation 9-1-1, working closely with industry and government stakeholders. Under his leadership, the Bureau proposed major initiatives for Next Generation 9-1-1. He worked actively on a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network for first responders (FirstNet), including a rulemaking that designated the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology for that network. He proposed the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, which occurred on November 9, 2011.
For nearly 20 years, Admiral Barnett worked as an attorney in private practice. He represented cities, counties, school districts, law enforcement agencies and development authorities in the board room and in state and federal court advising on a range of topics including constitutional law, governmental liability, personnel and employment law, education and school law, policy development, legislation, procurement, and ethics. Prior to joining Venable, Admiral Barnett served as Senior Vice President for National Security Policy at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a premier not-for-profit science and technology policy research institution in the Washington, DC area. He remains a Senior Fellow of Potomac Institute. He is currently the Vice President for Global Communications Solutions for a major U.S. satellite and defense technology company.
Jamie Barnett received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he was named the Dean Parham Williams Outstanding Student, and his undergraduate degree from the University, where he was President of the student body and member of the Hall of Fame.
