In a humble and self effacing keynote address, evocative of the man himself, former CIA Director William Burns delivered more than just remarks as he received the prestigious Intelligence and National Security Alliance William Oliver Baker Award Dinner—he offered a heartfelt tribute to public service. Surrounded by the giants of the Intelligence Community, both past and present, Burns accepted the 2024 Baker Award by shining the spotlight not on himself, but on the thousands of public servants who work in the shadows to keep the nation safe.
Burns began by naming a pantheon of former intelligence leaders in the room and in spirit—Jim Clapper, Mike Hayden, Mike McConnell, John McLaughlin, Trey Whitworth, David Cohen, Chris Wray, Stacey Dixon, and Sue Gordon. And, ever the consummate leader, he humbly credited his former CIA team for making him “look better than [he] ever deserved to look” during his time as director.
But Burns reserved his most personal thanks for his family, especially his father, who modeled integrity and public service as a career Army officer. Recalling a handwritten note from his father when he was just finishing graduate school, Burns quoted words that would define his life: “Nothing will make you prouder than to serve your country with honor.”
That honor, he said, has been a guiding principle over four decades as a diplomat and intelligence official—whether it was going toe-to-toe with foreign adversaries or witnessing the silent courage of CIA officers in some of the most turbulent moments of modern history.
Burns framed today’s national security landscape as one of the most complex and combustible in memory, citing three defining features:
Strategic Competition – particularly with China, “the most formidable adversary we’ve ever faced,” and Russia, “a declining power” still capable of immense disruption.
Technological Transformation – a revolution changing how we live, work, and fight, with implications intelligence has only begun to grasp.
Transnational Challenges – crises like pandemics and climate change that require global cooperation and persistent intelligence agility.
In this uncertain terrain, Burns emphasized that it’s the people—those quiet professionals who serve far from the spotlight—who represent America’s strongest advantage. “Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that an institution is the length and shadow of one man,” he noted. “Now, no disrespect to Mr. Emerson, but I profoundly disagree. An institution is the combined shadows of thousands of women and men.”
Image via the Intelligence and National Security Alliance
Burns cited examples that exemplify this ethos:
The CIA officers who ventured beyond the wire at Kabul Airport during the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The intelligence teams who sounded early alarms before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The negotiators behind the largest U.S.-Russia prisoner swap in history.
The technologists building tools so advanced, Burns quipped, “Jack Ryan, James Bond, and Jack Bauer would be jealous.”
Yet even as he praised their service, Burns issued a warning about corrosive rhetoric that undermines trust in the very institutions meant to protect us. He decried attacks on the so-called “Deep State,” calling them “badly misguided” and dangerous. “At worst,” he said, “they leave behind the wreckage of a weak state—less able to stand up for American interests, stand against our adversaries, and stand with our allies.”
Burns ended his remarks not with a call for reform, but a call for respect—for recognition of the oath that intelligence professionals take, not to any party or president, but to the Constitution.
“To all the intelligence officers, diplomats, military officers, and aid workers here tonight or listening,” he said, “I would not be receiving this award without your tireless service to our nation. Truly, nothing has made me prouder than serving alongside all of you.”
And with that, Burns asked the room to do what the public so often does not—“join me in loud applause for those quiet American heroes.”
They did.
