National Security Discussion Continues To Pursue National Security Opportunities

April 18, 2016

A few weeks ago, Wilmington welcomed Rear Adm. Don Loren at a luncheon honoring North Carolina’s veterans. Days before, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) decided to omit the Atlantic Ocean from the Five-Year Lease Plan.
 
 Loren has worked for years to keep our nation safe. He served for more than 40 years in the Navy and traveled the world studying security and terrorist activities. He also served as the assistant deputy secretary of Homeland Security Integration. In his discussion here in Wilmington, Loren highlighted the continued importance of energy security to our national security. Even on the national stage, Loren emphasized how North Carolina has continued to be front and center in the national security discussion, and we have also been at the forefront of the energy development discussion as we have debated exploration off the Atlantic Coast.
 
 As I sat in the audience at the American Legion, I looked around at the faces in the crowd. These people have decades of experience protecting the very beaches all of us are trying to protect. We all want the same thing – freedom and security. We want the freedom to pursue opportunity and the security that we can do so without fear.

Read entire article on Wilmington Biz (NC).