VADM (Ret.) Sean Buck
President
National Training and Simulation Association
Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983 and retired from naval service after 40+ years of commissioned service. His active-duty career culminated as the 63rd Superintendent of the US Naval Academy, our nation’s premier leadership development institution where he gained invaluable and in-depth knowledge and experience running an institution of higher education. Additionally, having commanded six times in the military, he has tremendous applied-leadership experience at the highest levels of military and government as well as specialization in strategy and policy development and international affairs.
On June 3rd, 2024, Sean embarked on his current position as the President of the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA), a non-profit affiliate of the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA). In his role, he leads a team of 310 employees and/or volunteers that represent and advocate for its membership of technology companies involved with cutting edge innovation and research in the modeling and simulation space for training systems. Additionally, he serves on the Advisory Board of Academy Securities and its Geopolitical Intelligence Group, the Advisory Board for Synergist Technology, the Military Advisory Board for First Command Financial Services, as a Trustee to the US Naval Academy’s Athletic and Scholarship Program, and as a member of the Leadership Committee for the US National Naval Museum Development Foundation. To date, he has also been engaged as a keynote speaker for the US Department of Agriculture and Babson College’s E-Tower Young Entrepreneurs Conference.
Sean’s academic credentials include: a Master of Arts in Security Policy Studies from The George Washington University; completed studies at the College of Naval Command and Staff, U.S. Naval War College; the Armed Forces Staff College; a year-long fellowship with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI Foreign Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest program; Executive Certificate Programs at both the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Graduate School of Education; and a special assignment as a Senior Fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group-an innovation think tank for the Navy, tasked with solving the service’s most vexing problem sets.
Sean’s operational naval service was as a Naval Flight Officer in the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance naval aviation community accumulating over 4000 flight hours and command- level leadership at the Squadron, Air Wing, and three higher-level organizations culminating with command of the US FOURTH Fleet.
Ashore, he had over a decade of service in the Pentagon on multiple tours of duty with the Navy Staff as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During these tours he specialized in strategy and policy development, international affairs, as well as personnel management. Additionally, he leveraged unique opportunities in his career by earning designation as a member of the Navy’s Space Cadre while serving at the National Reconnaissance Office and gained tremendous experience within collegiate sports by serving both as a Division I athlete (Tennis) as well as a member of the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Committee of the American Athletic Conference.
In 2023, enabled by a lifetime of public service, diverse personal and professional leadership experiences, and public speaking, Sean started a consulting firm, “Actually in The Arena LLC,” to offer services and successful strategic solutions with the highest levels of integrity, accountability, and competence to his clients who are in the arena.
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