James Aloysius "Ace" Lyons Jr. (September 28, 1927 – December 12, 2018) was an

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 ...

in the

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 ...

who served as Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1985 to 1987. He later served as chairman of the Center for Security Policy's Military Committee.

Military career

James Lyons enlisted in the Navy Reserve shortly after World War II and was appointed to 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 ...

, graduating in 1952. He earned post-graduate degrees 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Lyons served in the Navy for over 35 years as a

Surface Warfare Officer The surface warfare insignia is a Military badges of the United States, military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There ...

. He commanded the (DD 697) and (DLG 20) and fulfilled several on-land assignments. He earned appointments as the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Senior U.S. Military Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations.

Later activities

In the 2010s Lyons became active in Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy (CSP), including its "counterjihad" project. He was a co-author of the CSP "Team B II" report '' Shariah: The Threat To America'' in 2010. In 2015, at a launch event for the CSP report '' The Secure Freedom Strategy: A Plan for Victory Over the Global Jihad Movement'', Lyons claimed that

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

members had infiltrated "every one of our national security agencies," and made reference to the claim that then-CIA director John Brennan allegedly was a secret Muslim convert. On March 1, 2018, ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'' published an opinion column by Lyons about Democratic Party staffer Seth Rich's unsolved murder in Washington D.C., which has frequently been the subject of right-wing conspiracy theories. In the column, Lyons falsely claimed it was "well known in the intelligence circles" that Rich and his brother Aaron sold a trove of non-public

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

emails to the news leak media outlet

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

, whose publication of the confidential messages caused chaos in the Democratic Party during the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

. Aaron Rich sued and the article was retracted with an apology. Lyons died on December 12, 2018. He was 91.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, James 1927 births 2018 deaths Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery American counter-jihad activists Military personnel from New Jersey Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals