Vernon Eugene Clark (born September 7, 1944) is a retired admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arleigh Burke. He currently sits on the board of directors of

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...

and

SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

. In November 2009, he was selected along with former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo West by Defense Secretary

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...

to lead the military investigation into the Fort Hood massacre.

Early life and education

Clark was born in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, and grew up in the states of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Clark graduated from

Evangel College Evangel University is a private Christian university and seminary in Springfield, Missouri. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God Christian denomination, which is also headquartered in Springfield. The campus sits on that were originally ...

and earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree from the University of Arkansas. He attended

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

and received his commission in August 1968.

Career

Clark served aboard the destroyers and . As a lieutenant, he commanded . He subsequently commanded , , the Atlantic Fleet's Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center, Destroyer Squadron 17, and Destroyer Squadron 5. After being selected for flag rank, Clark commanded ''

Carl Vinson Carl Vinson (November 18, 1883 – June 1, 1981) was an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 50 years and was influential in the 20th century expansion of the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Democratic ...

'' Battle Group/ Cruiser-Destroyer Group 3, Second Fleet, and United States Atlantic Fleet. Ashore, Clark first served as special assistant to the director of the Systems Analysis Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He later completed assignments as the administrative assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare) and as the administrative aide to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He served as head of the Cruiser-Destroyer Combat Systems Requirements Section and force anti-submarine warfare officer for the commander of Naval Surface Force, Atlantic Fleet, and he directed the Joint Staff's Crisis Action Team for

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. Clark's first flag assignment was at the

United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987. The USTRANSCO ...

(TRANSCOM), where he was director of plans and policy (J5) and financial management and analysis (J8). While commanding the ''Carl Vinson'' Battle Group, he deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

and later served as the Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia. Clark has also served as the Deputy and Chief of Staff, United States Atlantic Fleet; the Director of Operations (J3) and subsequently Director, of the Joint Staff. Clark became the 27th Chief of Naval Operations on July 21, 2000, relieving Jay L. Johnson. Clark now serves on the board of directors of Raytheon Company, Rolls-Royce North America, SRI International, Horizon Lines, the Armed Forces YMCA, and is on the world board of governors of the USO. He serves as a senior advisor with

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

, the Defense Policy Board, the advisory boards of Fleishman-Hillard, Computer Science Corporation, the Comptroller General's advisory board of the GAO, and the executive committee of Military Ministry. In addition, he is currently a distinguished professor at

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Clark teaches in the Robertson School of Government and the School of Business & Leadership and is a member of the Regent's board of trustees. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors at Air University.

Awards and decorations

Since his retirement, Clark has been honored with the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives for National Security and the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States. Clark was elected to the board of directors of

in December 2005 and the board of directors of

in March 2007.

References

External links

:''This article incorporates text in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

from the U.S. Department of Defense.'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Vern 1944 births Living people People from Sioux City, Iowa Assemblies of God people Evangel University alumni Military personnel from Iowa United States Navy officers University of Arkansas alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Chiefs of Naval Operations Raytheon Company people Directors of SRI International Regent University faculty