Sandy Winnefeld (born James Alexander Winnefeld Jr.; April 24, 1956) is a retired

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 ...

admiral who serves as the chair of the

President's Intelligence Advisory Board The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is an advisory body to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. According to its self-description, it "provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy of ...

since May 4, 2022. While on active duty, Winnefeld served as the ninth

vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...

from August 4, 2011 to July 31, 2015. He previously served as the fourth Commander, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the 21st Commander,

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD) from May 19, 2010 to August 3, 2011. Prior to that, Winnefeld served as Director for Strategic Plans and Policy,

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and th ...

which he concurrently served as the Senior Member, U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Military Staff Committee. His other operational commands include serving as the Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and Commander, Allied Joint Command Lisbon. As the

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...

, Winnefeld was the second highest-ranking officer in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

, second only to the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: a ...

. In 2015, he retired from the Navy after over 37 years of service. He currently serves on the board of directors for

Raytheon Technologies 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 capitaliz ...

, one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world.

Biography

Winnefeld's military lineage extended to his father and grandfather who both served in the Navy. His great-grandfather was a Prussian cavalryman. Winnefeld graduated from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

in 1978 with high honors in Aerospace Engineering and received his commission via the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program. While at Georgia Tech, he was a member of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 3 ...

fraternity. After designation as a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-base ...

, he served with two fighter squadrons and as an instructor at the

Navy Fighter Weapons School The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as Top Gun (stylized as TOPGUN), teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected United States Naval Aviator, naval aviators ...

(TOPGUN). While an instructor at TOPGUN, he worked with crew from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

on the production of the movie ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by ...

''. Winnefeld went on to graduate with the highest distinction from the

U.S. 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 associat ...

off-campus program. He is a recipient of the Admiral

William J. Crowe William James Crowe Jr. (January 2, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassado ...

Award as

Action Officer of the Year and the Vice Admiral William W. Behrens Jr. award as the honor graduate of his class at

Nuclear Power School Nuclear Power School (NPS) is a technical school operated by the U.S. Navy in Goose Creek, South Carolina as a central part of a program that trains enlisted sailors, officers, KAPL civilians and Bettis civilians for shipboard nuclear power ...

. His command tours include Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211), and as the 17th commanding officer of the . He led ''Enterprise'' through her 18th deployment, which included combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom immediately after the terrorist acts of

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. As commander, Carrier Strike Group 2/ ''Theodore Roosevelt'' Carrier Strike Group, he led Task Forces 50, 152 and 58 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and maritime interception operations in the Persian Gulf. He most recently served concurrently as Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; Commander, Allied Joint Command Lisbon; Commander, Striking and Support Forces

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

;Flag Officer Announcement
July 22, 2008 Deputy Commander,

U.S. Naval Forces Europe United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, NAVEUR-NAVAF was previously referred to as United States ...

; and Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander, Europe. His shore tours include service as an action officer in the Joint Staff Operations Directorate, as senior aide to the

and as executive assistant to the

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

. As a flag officer he served ashore as Director, Warfare Programs and Transformational Concepts,

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

and as Director, Joint Innovation and Experimentation at

United States Joint Forces Command 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. Ray Odie ...

. Winnefeld is now a Distinguished Professor at the

Sam Nunn School of International Affairs The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, at the Georgia Institute of Technology located in Atlanta, Georgia is the only professional school of international affairs at a major technological institution. Founded in 1990, the School was rename ...

. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Belfer Center at the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public a ...

. Winnefeld began speaking out on his son's opioid overdose death and advocating for awareness of the opioid epidemic. In an April 5, 2020 phone call to White House Chief of Staff

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th c ...

, Senate Minority Leader

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

touted Winnefeld as a potential

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

czar to oversee the production and disbursement of medical equipment. In May 2022, Winnefeld was appointed to serve as chair of the

September 11 attacks

Winnefeld was the commanding officer of the '' USS Enterprise'' during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. The ''Enterprise'' was headed to Cape Town, South Africa, for a port call. The crew was watching television at sea on September 11 and watched the hijacked

United Airlines Flight 175 United Airlines Flight 175 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The flight's scheduled plan was from Logan International Airport, in Boston, M ...

airliner strike the south tower of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. Acting without specific direction from the National Command Authority, then-Captain Winnefeld gave the order to put the ship's rudder over (180° degree turn) to take station in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. The carrier's aircraft were within range of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

the next morning. For over three weeks starting on October 7, aircraft from ''Enterprise'' flew nearly 700 missions and dropped large amounts of ordnance over Afghanistan. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral

Vern Clark 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. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arlei ...

praised Winnefeld and credited him for taking initiative as well as for the ''Enterprise's'' crew readiness.

Dates of rank

Military awards and decorations

He is also a recipient of the

, William W. Behrens Jr. awards and the 2012 recipient of the

Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award The Naval War College Distinguished Graduate leadership Award was established in 1996 by the Trustees of the Naval War College Foundation to honor United States Naval War College graduates who have attained positions of prominence in the field of n ...

Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE)

After losing a son to opioid addiction, the Winnefeld family began dedicating themselves to studying the issue. They launched a website called SafeProject.us with the goal of saving other families from experiencing the same tragedy.

Notes

External links

Official Joint Chiefs of Staff biographyOfficial United States Navy biography
at the

* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Winnefeld, James A. Jr. 1956 births Georgia Tech alumni Living people Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy admirals