Philip Gardner Howe III is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

and

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

. His assignment prior to retirement in 2019 was associate director for military affairs at the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. He previously served as the 55th

President of the Naval War College The president of the Naval War College is a flag officer in the United States Navy. The President's House in Newport, Rhode Island is their official residence. The functions of the president of the Naval War College actually predate the estab ...

, and was the first SEAL officer to hold this assignment. Prior to that, Howe was the Commander,

Special Operations Command Pacific The Special Operations Command Pacific, known as SOCPAC, is a sub-unified command of the United States Department of Defense for special operations forces in the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility. History T ...

Military career

Howe was a commissioned as an Ensign following his graduation from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1984. Howe then received orders to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation in San Diego, California. The base, situated on Silver Strand between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major United States Navy shore command, supporting over 30 t ...

. After six months of training, Howe graduated with BUD/S class 131 in February 1985. Following SEAL Tactical Training and completion of six month probationary period, he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear the

Special Warfare insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

. He has held many positions within the Naval Special Warfare and Joint Special Operations Command JSOC communities. Howe has commanded Naval Special Warfare Unit THREE (NSWU-3) in Bahrain,

Naval Special Warfare Group 3 Naval Special Warfare Group 3 (NSWG-3), based at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California, was one of six constituent formations of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Until 2008, NSWG-3 was composed of two SEAL Delivery Vehicl ...

in San Diego, and

. His overseas deployments have been in support of Operations Earnest Will, Provide Promise,

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

, and

Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

as well as others across Asia and the western Pacific region. Howe's major joint and staff assignments include current operations officer at Special Operations Command Pacific; chief staff officer,

Naval Special Warfare Development Group The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and unofficially known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often r ...

; assistant chief of staff for Operations, Plans and Policy at Naval Special Warfare Command; director of Legislative Affairs for Special Operations Command; and assistant commanding officer, operations

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

. Howe most recently served as the Commander, Special Operations Command Pacific from 2013 to 2014. On 8 July 2014, Howe became the 55th President of the Naval War College. Howe became associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency on 4 October 2016. Howe retired to Newport, RI at the end of 2019 and currently serves on the Navy SEAL Foundation board of advisors.

Education

Howe is a 1984 graduate of the

. He graduated from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in 1995 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in national security affairs, and from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

in 2002 with a Master of Arts in national security. Howe enrolled as a student at the International Yacht Restoration School of Technology and Trades in Newport, RI for the 2020–2021 academic year.

Awards and decorations

Military awards and badges

Other awards

* Service Member Defense of Freedom Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, P. Gardner III Living people Military personnel from Florida United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy SEALs personnel United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal 1962 births