Dr. Endress is a native of Staten Island, New York.  He attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and then the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry.  In 1977, he received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Hawaii.  He completed his doctorate in economics at the University of Hawaii in 1994, concentrating in the fields of resource and environmental economics and international trade and finance.  His research has been focused on sustainable development and the economics of international security.  He is a member of the Affiliate Graduate Faculty in the economics department at the University of Hawaii.

       He served in the U.S. Navy from October 1967 to October 1973.  Following graduation from Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, he completed training in the Navy Nuclear Power Program.  He subsequently attended submarine school and served on two nuclear submarines: USS Sea Devil (SSN 664) and USS Daniel Webster (SSBN 626).  After completing military service, Dr. Endress worked as a nuclear engineer for Bechtel Power Corporation in Los Angeles, California.  From 1978 to 1989, Dr. Endress served as the senior civilian analyst and then Tactical Analysis Director on the staff of Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, managing the submarine research and analysis program. 

       Dr. Endress came to the U.S. Pacific Command in 1989 and in 1991 was assigned the position of Chief, Security Studies Branch in the Strategic Planning and Policy Directorate (J5).  He authored numerous studies and papers on Asia-Pacific security, national strategy, and international economic relations.  He was responsible for the preparation of the annual USPACOM Asia-Pacific Economic Update.