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 ...

(ret.) Arthur Karl Cebrowski (August 13, 1942 – November 12, 2005) was a

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 ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. He also who served from October 2001 to January 2005 as Director of the

Office of Force Transformation The United States Department of Defense Office of Force Transformation (OFT) was established October 29, 2001 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called for the creation of this new office to support his ...

in the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

. In this position, he was responsible for serving as an advocate, focal point, and catalyst for the transformation of the United States military.

Early life and naval career

Cebrowski was born in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in New Jersey, the state's 16th-most-populous ...

to a Polish American family. He was a 1964 graduate of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, held a master's degree in computer systems management 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 ...

and attended the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

. He entered the navy through the

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

in 1964. Cebrowski was a

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

and commanded Fighter Squadron 41 ( VF-41) and

Carrier Air Wing 8 Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier Mission The mission of Carrier Air Wing Eight is: " conduct off ...

. He commanded the assault ship USS ''Guam'', the aircraft carrier USS ''Midway'', and, as a Rear Admiral (Lower Half) in December 1993, Carrier Group 6, whose flagship was the . He had combat experience in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and during Desert Storm. His joint assignments included service as the Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computers (J-6), Joint Staff. In October 1993, after several weeks supporting United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia, orders came on four hours notice for Carrier Group Six, under Rear Admiral (lower half) Arthur Cebrowski, to move quickly. The group was to transit the Suez Canal and relieve on Groundhog Station, 90 miles north of the equator in the Indian Ocean, supporting

UNOSOM II The United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried o ...

in Somalia. The flagship transited the Suez Canal on 29 October 1993. She was followed, on 1 November, by members of her battle group, and the replenished oiler . The transit took ''America'' over 2,500 miles in a week. The turnover from ''Abraham Lincoln'' permitted the west-coast carrier to return to Alameda, California, thereby ending a scheduled six-month deployment on time. Upon arrival, Rear Adm. Cebrowski, as carrier group commander, took command of Naval Battle Force Somalia (CTF 156). The

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...

(I MEF)-led "

Unified Task Force The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...

" had turned over control a few months before to UNOSOM II. There were Marine forces from I MEF (referred to as MARFOR Somalia) and Army forces from the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

as well as Air Force and Navy; and personnel and units from other Member States of the United Nations. Other U.S. naval and Marine Corps forces included , , , , , and the

13th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 pe ...

. Admiral Cebrowski retired from the Navy on October 1, 2001, with over 37 years of service, after serving as the

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 ...

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Office of Force Transformation

The Secretary of Defense called for the creation of the Office of Force Transformation in support of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's broad mandate to transform the nation's military capabilities. The transformation was intended to challenge the status quo with new concepts for American defense to ensure an overwhelming and continuing competitive advantage for America's military for decades to come. Cebrowski was appointed by

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

, effective October 29, 2001, reporting directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. As Director of Force Transformation, Admiral Cebrowski worked to link transformation to strategic functions, evaluated the transformation efforts of the military departments, and promoted synergy by recommending steps to integrate ongoing transformation activities. Among his primary responsibilities, Admiral Cebrowski monitored service and joint experimentation programs and made policy recommendations to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. Vice Admiral Cebrowski died on November 12, 2005, aged 63. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on January 9, 2006.

References

External links

Biography from the Office of Force Transformation
by

Margaret Holland Sargent Margaret Holland Sargent (born December 30, 1927), also known as Meg Sargent, is an American portrait artist based in Los Angeles, California. She has painted over three hundred oil portraits, including portraits of Tennessee Williams, Gerald Fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cebrowski, Arthur K. 1942 births 2005 deaths American people of Polish descent People from Passaic, New Jersey Military personnel from Passaic County, New Jersey Villanova University alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Naval Postgraduate School alumni United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy vice admirals Presidents of the Naval War College United States Department of Defense officials Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American academics

Early life and naval career

Office of Force Transformation

See also

References

External links