Donald Lee Pilling (June 4, 1943 – May 26, 2008) was a four-star

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 ...

who served as

Vice Chief of Naval Operations The vice chief of naval operations (VCNO) is the second highest-ranking commissioned United States Navy officer and functions as the principal deputy of the Chief of Naval Operations, chief of naval operations. By statute, the vice chief is appo ...

from 1997 to 2000.

Military career

A 1965 graduate of 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 ...

, Pilling's sea experience concerned destroyers. He commanded USS Dahlgren (DDG-43), was Commander of Destroyer Squadron 26, Commander, Cruiser Group 12, Commander, Saratoga Battle Group, Commander,

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixt ...

and Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe. Ashore, Admiral Pilling was assigned to a variety of defense resources and planning billets. From 1973 to 1977, he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (PA&E) where he was responsible for the resource analysis of all U.S. and foreign tactical aircraft and missile programs. From 1980 to 1983 he was on the personal staff of the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

, responsible for monitoring trends in the international environment and their implications for future naval forces. As a Federal Executive Fellow at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

(1985–1986), he studied defense acquisition and national security issues. From 1986 to 1988, Admiral Pilling was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations where he was responsible for the development of the Navy Five-Year Defense Plan (FYDP). A member of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

staff from 1989 until July 1992, Pilling had broad responsibilities in foreign policy and national security issues. From 1993 to 1995, he was the Director for Programming (N80) on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments (N8) from July 1996 to November 1997. He assumed duties as the 30th Vice Chief of Naval Operations in November 1997. Pilling was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1970, with a dissertation titled ''The Algebra of Operators for Regular Events''. He has published articles in both mathematical and professional journals and is also the author of a

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

, ''Competition in Defense Procurement'', published in 1989 by the

Awards and decorations

Post military

On January 1, 2002, Pilling became President and Chief Executive Officer

Logistics Management Institute LMI (formerly Logistics Management Institute) is an American management consulting firm with focus on the defense sector. Established in 1961, LMI is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, near McLean, in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, with sate ...

, a government consulting firm.Defenselink bio
/ref> He was also a member of the

Defense Science Board The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters. It was established in 1956 on the second Hoover Commission's recommendation. Charter The B ...

, the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

, and the White House Fellows Commission. He was on the Board of Trustees/Advisors at 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 ...

, the

Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (or simply Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University ...

of the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, and the

National Defense Industrial Association The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is a trade association for the United States government and defense industrial base. It is an 501(c)(3) educational organization. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia. NDIA was establi ...

. He was also a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Admiral Pilling lived in

Bayside, New York Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone, Queens, Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston, Queens, ...

, and was married to Barbara Pilling (née Orbon). Donald Pilling died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on May 26, 2008. Funeral services took place on May 30, 2008, at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

References

LMI bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilling, Donald L. United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit 1943 births 2008 deaths People from Bayside, Queens Military personnel from Queens, New York Alumni of the University of Cambridge Vice chiefs of Naval Operations Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Military career

Awards and decorations

Post military

See also

References