Speakers

A native of Flint, Michigan, and the son of a Korean War veteran, Rear Adm. Scott Jerabek enlisted in the Navy in February 1979 and was selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training Program, then commissioned through the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at the University of Nebraska. Jerabek holds a Master of Foreign Affairs from the School of Advanced Military Studies, Operational Arts Fellowship, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Baker University. His first sea assignment was aboard USS Gray (FF 1054) as gunnery officer, legal officer and damage control assistant. He was later assigned aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) as Turret II officer and nuclear weapons security officer. He served ashore as executive officer of the Navy Reserve Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and officer in charge of Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) 114. Operationally overseas, Jerabek served as the senior Navy representative in the Air Tactical Operation Center, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Operation Southern Watch. In 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom, he served as a task unit commander in Umm Qasr, Iraq, and was responsible for the defense of Iraq's strategic port. Jerabek served as commodore, Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 1 in San Diego, from March 2006 to June 2008, and commanded an inshore boat unit, a Naval Special Warfare det. He served as the director of the Navy Element, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Jerabek served as commanding officer of the U.S. Forces, Japan Det. and was chief of staff, U.S. Forces, Japan, during Operation Tomodachi. Jerabek's first flag tour was as deputy commander, Navy Warfare Development Command. He assumed his duties as commander, Navy Warfare Development Command in July 2013 to July 2014. He recently served as director, J7, Theater Engagement, United States Southern Command from July 2014 to July 2016. Jerabek currently serves as deputy director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, commander, U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Standing Force Headquarters for Elimination (SJFHQ-E) of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and the deputy director of USSTRATCOM Center for Combating WMD (SCC-WMD), headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.