Retired General John Allen delivers 2025's Erik S. Kristensen Memorial Lecture: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Uncertainty: Education and Leadership in the Next Century

John Allen, retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general, and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A); previously served as the Brookings Institute President. Allen is a 1976 graduate of the USNA where, in 2002, he became the first Marine officer to serve as the Commandant of Midshipmen.

In conversation with:
Josh Herbert, USNA Midshipman
Millie Ransohoff, St. John’s College

Please note that we require registration in order to plan capacity. You don't have to bring the ticket that we have emailed you.

The Kristensen special lecture series, jointly sponsored by St. John’s College and the United States Naval Academy, honors LCDR Erik S. Kristensen (AGI00)—an alumnus of the Academy and the St. John’s Graduate Institute. Kristensen, a Navy SEAL, was killed in the line of duty while leading a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan in 2005.

The annual memorial lecture series to honor Kristensen was initiated by a 1992 St. John’s College graduate, Lt. Michael Zampella, along with friends and family, and is supported in large part by the Navy SEAL Foundation, Inc., Eye-Street Kristensen Klassic, and the Navy SEAL Family Foundation.