Frank Dixon Whitworth III (born 17 June 1967) is an active duty

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 and career

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...

who serves as the eighth director of the

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national se ...

since 3 June 2022. He most recently served as the Director for Intelligence of the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

Early life and education

Born in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, Whitworth is a 1989 graduate of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He holds a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, as well as a Diploma from 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 ...

in Newport, Rhode Island.

Military career

Whitworth's command tours included Commander, Joint Intelligence Center Central; commanding officer, Navy Element of U.S. Central Command; and commanding officer, Kennedy Irregular Warfare Center. Whitworth's operational tours included director of intelligence for

U.S. Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

, director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command, director of intelligence and deputy director of Maritime Operations Center for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. Fifth Fleet; director of intelligence for a Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan during three deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom; director of intelligence for Naval Special Warfare Development Group; special assistant for Political-Military Affairs at

U.S. 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 Si ...

during Operation Allied Force; indications and warning Officer at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. Fifth Fleet, in support of

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-Man ...

; and intelligence officer for Fighter Squadron 31 during 's deployment in support of Operation Provide Comfort. Whitworth's shore-based tours included the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

as chief of targets for the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility; Navy federal executive fellow to

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

; senior duty officer at the White House Situation Room; intelligence briefer for 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 ...

and

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

; and intelligence watch analyst at the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

and the National Military Joint Intelligence Center. In July 2021, he was nominated and confirmed for promotion to

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 ...

. He was promoted to his present rank on 30 July 2021.

Awards and decorations

He is also a recipient of the Edwin T. Layton Leadership Award, Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Leadership Award and the Army's Knowlton Award for excellence in intelligence.

Personal life

Whitworth is the son of Frank Dixon Whitworth Jr. and Kay Sutton Whitworth. Whitworth married Amy Beth Crandall on 5 September 1992 in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. His wife is the younger sister of Navy judge advocate Darse E. Crandall Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitworth, Frank D. 1967 births Living people Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia Duke University alumni Georgetown University alumni Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Directors of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency