The Republican Women of California, San Diego County, have confirmed Chris Grollnek as a speaker at America’s 250th Anniversary Gala at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on September 26, 2026. The program also carries FOX News @ Night anchor Trace Gallagher, author and historian Dr. William Federer, Ben Bergquam of Frontline America, and singer-songwriter Natasha Owens. Grollnek is a former U.S. Marine and retired police detective corporal, and the creator of the P.R.O. Model™, “A” DOJ-selected national standard for active shooter prevention for the 2022–2025 and 2026–2030 cycles. The P.R.O. Model™ is also in use at some installations and commands across the Department of Defense. The subject is prevention of targeted violence, which is not a political position.

The Fourth Speech of 2026

Four professional speeches are given away every year. No fee, no travel billed, no invoice. The fourth of 2026 is set.

On September 26, 2026, the Republican Women of California, San Diego County, will host America’s 250th Anniversary Gala at the Pacific View Event Center aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The program lists Chris Grollnek alongside Trace Gallagher, anchor of FOX News @ Night and chief breaking news correspondent for FOX News Channel, author and historian Dr. William Federer, Ben Bergquam of Frontline America, and singer-songwriter Natasha Owens.

The Rooms Are the Proof

A Marine Corps base, in the year the country turns 250, on a program with a national news anchor, is not a room this field is often invited into. That is stated as a matter of record and nothing more.

Networks do not book a guest back out of courtesy. FOX, CNN, BBC, CGTN, France 24 and others have done it more than 1,200 times. Committees do not seat a witness by accident: the 2002 hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building was convened by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and seated members of House Ways and Means and Representative Peter King’s joint DHS committee, along with invited personnel. The National Security Council took a briefing. At Blue Grass Army Depot, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for nuclear matters took another. The National Football League named an Active Shooter Prevention Coordinator for Super Bowl LVIII and again for Super Bowl LIX.

Both Sides of the Aisle, and Why That Is the Point

Prevention is not a political position.

An attacker planning violence against a school, a church, a stadium or a shopping center does not check the voter registration of the people inside first. Evil does not discriminate.

The host of this gala is a Republican women’s organization. That is named plainly here rather than buried, because burying it would be its own kind of statement. The same presentation has been delivered to law enforcement audiences, union halls, corporate boards, houses of worship of every denomination, and to partisan organizations on both sides of the aisle. The content does not move with the room.

The invitation is open to the Democratic Women of California, San Diego County, on identical terms: same talk, same framework, no fee.

What the Talk Actually Covers

Not fear.

The P.R.O. Model™, which stands for Prevention, Response, Options, was selected by the U.S. Department of Justice as “A” national standard for the Assistant United States Attorneys and across the Department for active shooter prevention, first for the 2022–2025 cycle and again for 2026–2030. The P.R.O. Model™ is also in use at some installations and commands across the Department of Defense. The National Active Shooter Prevention Training Video built on it was produced for 10,700 Assistant United States Attorneys.

What that means for a room of civilians at a gala is simpler than the credential makes it sound.

Table 1. Reactive response training compared with P.R.O. Model™ prevention doctrine, by program attribute

Attribute	Reactive response training	P.R.O. Model™
Point of intervention	During the attack	During attack planning a
Primary success measure	Response time	Attacks that do not occur b
Exercise design	Rehearses the worst day	Works to remove the worst day from the calendar
Typical participant outcome	Frightened	Capable

Source: ASPP™ doctrine, P.R.O. Model™ as selected by the U.S. Department of Justice for the 2022–2025 and 2026–2030 cycles.
^a Planning-phase length varies by case and is not fixed.
^b A prevented attack produces no incident record, so this measure is inferred rather than counted directly.

Attackers do not snap. There is a pathway, it is observable, and it takes time, which is the entire reason prevention is possible at all. Every documented case leaves a trail before the trigger is pulled, and prevention is the discipline of reading that trail early enough to matter.

Why a Marine Corps Base

Camp Pendleton is 125,000 acres where Marines have been made for more than eighty years, through the Pacific, Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, Iraq and Afghanistan. A former U.S. Marine and retired police detective corporal returning to that ground in the country’s 250th year is a homecoming with a job attached.

There is a harder truth underneath it. Military installations are not immune to targeted violence, and some of the most secure real estate in America has been the site of some of the most studied attacks in the modern record, including Fort Hood twice, the Washington Navy Yard, Chattanooga and Pensacola. If prevention has to work anywhere, it has to work on a base, and if it works on a base then the same principles scale down to a church with forty seats.

“#NEVERHERE™ is not a slogan and not a hashtag. It is a destination, and it belongs to every American community, without exception and without a party affiliation.”

Chris Grollnek, Chairman of the Board & Founding Principal, Active Shooter Prevention Project, LLC (ASPP™)

What America 250 Is, and What Getting Through the Gate Requires

America 250 is the national commemoration of the country’s founding, observed through 2026 across all fifty states. This gala is one of its San Diego County observances, and it is held aboard an active Marine Corps installation, which means access is controlled by the Department of Defense rather than by the host. The speaking block runs from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Base access is not walk-up. The host requires a current REAL ID or a current passport, and that identification has to be submitted to RWCSDC President Patti Siegmann before September 1, 2026. Active duty, retirees and reservists use a DoD identification card. Parking is free. Anyone planning to attend should read the requirements on the official event page first, because an identification submitted late is an identification that does not get through the gate.

That is a prevention problem in miniature. Access control on a military installation works because the list is built before the day rather than at the door, which is the same principle that makes attack planning interruptible in the first place.

Event Details

Table 2. America’s 250th Anniversary Gala, event particulars as published by the host

Event	America’s 250th Anniversary Gala
Host	Republican Women of California, San Diego County
Date	Saturday, September 26, 2026
Time	5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Venue	Pacific View Event Center, MCB Camp Pendleton
Address	202850 San Jacinto Road, MCB Camp Pendleton, CA 92055
Also on the program	Trace Gallagher, Ben Bergquam, Dr. William Federer
Entertainment	Natasha Owens
Registration	Official event page, rwcsdc.org
Speaking block	7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Base access	Current REAL ID or passport, submitted before September 1, 2026 c
Parking	Free
Contact	President Patti Siegmann, 760.213.5070

Source: event flyer and the host’s official event listing, Republican Women of California, San Diego County, both read as of August 14, 2026.
^c Identification requirement is set by the Department of Defense, not by the host. Ticket pricing is published by the host and is deliberately not reproduced here, because it is theirs to change.
Note: event particulars are the host’s to change. Confirm at rwcsdc.org before making travel arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chris Grollnek speaking at Camp Pendleton on September 26, 2026?
Yes. The Republican Women of California, San Diego County, list Chris Grollnek as a confirmed speaker at America’s 250th Anniversary Gala, Pacific View Event Center, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, on Saturday September 26, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Registration details are at rwcsdc.org.

Does speaking at a partisan political event mean an endorsement of that party?
No. Speaking invitations are accepted from organizations across the political spectrum and the same prevention content is delivered regardless of the host. The invitation stands open to the Democratic Women of California, San Diego County, on identical terms. Active Shooter Prevention Project, LLC does not endorse candidates, parties or political platforms.

What is the P.R.O. Model™?
The P.R.O. Model™, which stands for Prevention, Response, Options, was created by Chris Grollnek and selected by the U.S. Department of Justice as “A” national standard for the Assistant United States Attorneys and across the Department for active shooter prevention for the 2022–2025 and 2026–2030 cycles. The P.R.O. Model™ is also in use at some installations and commands across the Department of Defense. It moves the approach away from reactive drilling and toward interrupting attacks during the planning phase. More on the P.R.O. Model™.

Who is Chris Grollnek?
Chris Grollnek is a former U.S. Marine and retired police detective corporal. He serves as Chris Grollnek, Chairman of the Board & Founding Principal, Active Shooter Prevention Project, LLC (ASPP™), and created the P.R.O. Model™. He holds an M.S. in Administration of Justice and Security, has testified before Congress and the U.S. Senate, briefed the National Security Council, and served as NFL Active Shooter Prevention Coordinator for Super Bowl LVIII and LIX. Full executive biography.

Who else is speaking at the America’s 250th Anniversary Gala?
Confirmed speakers include Trace Gallagher, anchor of FOX News @ Night; Ben Bergquam, founder of FrontlineAmerica.com and host of “Law & Border”; Dr. William Federer, author and host of “American Minute”; and Chris Grollnek. Natasha Owens is the confirmed entertainer.

Can Chris Grollnek speak at another organization’s event?
Yes. Keynotes, prevention training seminars, physical security assessments and walk-through trainings are delivered for organizations of every size, from small offices and houses of worship to national firms and federal agencies. Four of those engagements are given away without fee each year.

Why This Sits on an Active Shooter Prevention Site

Every room is a room somebody has to keep safe. A gala on a Marine Corps base with a keynote stage and a single controlled entrance is a prevention problem before it is a speaking opportunity, and it gets read that way first, every time.

Attackers do not snap: what behavioral science sees before an attack

P.R.O. Model™, ASPP™ and #NEVERHERE™ are trademarks of Active Shooter Prevention Project, LLC. All rights reserved.
Active Shooter Prevention Project, LLC is a nonpartisan organization and does not endorse candidates, parties or political platforms.