March Breakfast with Senator Jim Webb  

Register to join us for our March breakfast.

A bit about Senator Webb...

In his first term in office, Senator Jim Webb's legislative priorities have been guided by three themes: reorienting America's national security posture, promoting economic fairness, and increasing government accountability. He championed the enactment of a 21st century GI Bill for post-9/11 service members, established an oversight commission to prevent wasteful and fraudulent spending in wartime contracting, and remains committed to developing a comprehensive national energy strategy.

In the fall of 2008, Senator Webb was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st Century by Esquire Magazine, for doing "more to repair his party's relationship with the military" than anyone since the Vietnam War. Webb was named Washingtonian Magazine's "Rising Star" in the magazine's "Best & Worst of Congress" edition. In December 2007, the Politico newspaper named Webb "Rookie of the Year" in Congress.

Webb was also honored this year by the nation's leading veterans' service organizations for his leadership in sponsoring the Post-9/11 GI Bill-signed into law on June 30, 2008. He was awarded the Gold Medal and Citation of Merit by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in "recognition of exceptional service rendered the country, community, and mankind." And the Military Coalition, a consortium of 35 military and veterans organizations presented Webb the Award of Merit, their top honor to individuals who have championed the causes of pay and benefits improvements for military families.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Webb is a descendent of the Scots-Irish settlers who came to this country in the 18th century and became pioneers in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in l968, receiving the Superintendent's Commendation for outstanding leadership contributions while a midshipman, and subsequently chose a commission in the Marine Corps.

First in his class of 243 at the Marine Corps Officers' Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, Webb served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam, where as a rifle platoon and company commander in the infamous An Hoa Basin west of Danang he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. He later served as a platoon commander and as an instructor in tactics and weapons at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, and then as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's immediate staff, before leaving the Marine Corps in 1972.

Webb received his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center in 1975. He served in the U.S. Congress as counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1977 to 1981. In 1982, he led the fight for including an African American soldier in the memorial statue that now graces the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall and wrote the inscription at the base of the flag pole. In 1984, he was appointed the inaugural Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. In 1987, he became the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in the military and then become Secretary of the Navy.

In addition to Webb's public service, he has enjoyed a long career as a writer. He has authored nine books, including Fields of Fire, widely recognized as the classic novel of the Vietnam War, Born Fighting, an ethnography that explores how the Scots Irish shaped America, and A Time to Fight, his latest best-selling non-fiction about reclaiming a fair and just America. He has worked extensively as a screenwriter and producer in Hollywood, taught literature at the Naval Academy as their first visiting writer, has traveled worldwide as a journalist, and earned an Emmy Award for his PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut. In 2004, Webb went into Afghanistan as a journalist, embedded with the U.S. military.

Webb speaks Vietnamese and has done extensive pro bono work with the Vietnamese community dating from the late l970's.

Jim Webb currently serves as the senior Senator from Virginia. He serves on the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and the Joint Economic Committee.

He is the proud father of children Amy, Jimmy, Sarah, Julia, Georgia, and step-daughter Emily. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Hong Le Webb.