Harold Webster Gehman Jr. (born October 15, 1942) 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 ...

four-star admiral who served as

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), Commander-in-Chief of the

United States Joint Forces Command The United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. ...

, one of the United States' Unified Combatant Commands, and

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 ...

. He was also the Co-Chairman of the Commission that investigated the terrorist attack on the USS ''Cole'' and was Chairman of the

Columbia Accident Investigation Board The ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by NASA to investigate the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' during STS-107 upon atmo ...

(CAIB) after the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated during reentry in 2003, killing all seven crew members.

Military career

Gehman was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

on October 15, 1942, and graduated from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in

Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

and a commission in the Navy from the

Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...

. A Surface Warfare Officer, he served at all levels of leadership and command in

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

s and

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s. During the course of his career, Gehman had five sea commands in ranks from Lieutenant to

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. Gehman served 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 ...

as Officer in Charge of a Swift patrol boat and later in

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế M� ...

as Officer in Charge of a detachment of six swift boats and their crews. He subsequently served as executive officer of from March 1971 to February 1973. Gehman attended the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

from August 1975 to January 1976. He then commanded from January 1976 to June 1978, from December 1980 to September 1983, from February 1988 to June 1989 and Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 from July 1993 to July 1994. His staff assignments were both afloat on a Carrier Battle Group staff and ashore on a fleet commander's staff, a Unified Commander's staff and in Washington, D.C. on the 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 ...

(four tours). Promoted to four-star Admiral in 1996, he became the 29th Vice Chief of Naval Operations in September 1996. As Vice Chief of Naval Operations he was a member of the

Joint Chiefs of 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 secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

, formulated the Navy's $70 billion budget and developed and implemented policies governing the 375,000 people in the Navy. Assigned in September 1997 as Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic and Commander-in-Chief,

United States Atlantic Command The United States Atlantic Command (acronym from 1947-1993 USLANTCOM, after 1993 USACOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United ...

(later changed to Joint Forces Command), he became one of NATO's two military commanders and assumed command of all forces of all four services in the continental United States and became responsible for the provision of ready forces to the other Unified Commanders in Chief and for the development of new joint doctrine, training and requirements. He retired from the Navy in October 2000.

Awards and decorations

Post military

In retirement, Gehman has served as chairman of the

, co-chair, with retired general William W. Crouch, of the

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, ...

's Cole Commission, on the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was a process by a Federal government of the United States, United States federal government commission to increase the efficiency of the United States Department of Defense by coordinating the realignment and ...

(BRAC) committee, and is a Senior Fellow of the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

's Capstone Program.

Personal

Gehman is married to Janet F. Johnson and they have two children, Katherine and Christopher.

References

External links

Gehman Bio (from US Naval Academy)

Gehman Bio (from National Defense University)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gehman, Harold W. Jr. 1942 births Living people Penn State College of Engineering alumni Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Joint Forces Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Vice chiefs of Naval Operations Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal