Jonathan William Greenert (born May 15, 1953) is a former

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 the 30th

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 ...

from September 23, 2011, to September 18, 2015. He previously served as the 36th

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 August 13, 2009, to August 22, 2011. Prior to that, he served as Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command from September 29, 2007, to July 29, 2009, deputy chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources from September 2006 to September 2007, and commander of U.S. Seventh Fleet from August 2004 to September 2006. He retired from the navy after over 40 years of service. In March 2016, the

National Bureau of Asian Research The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is an American non-profit research institution based in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office in Washington, D.C. NBR brings together specialists, policymakers, and business leaders to examine e ...

announced that Greenert would become the third holder of the John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies (Shali Chair) at NBR. In April 2016, Greenert was appointed to the board of directors for

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

for a three-year term.

Early life and education

Born in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

suburb of

Butler, Pennsylvania Butler is a city in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is north of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,502. Butler is named after Major General ...

, on May 15, 1953, Greenert attended Butler Catholic School and Butler Senior High School. While in high school, he participated in Pennsylvania Keystone Boys State, an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

leadership program. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering and completed studies in nuclear power for service as a submarine officer.

Naval career

Greenert's career as a submariner included assignments on board as electrical material officer, as electrical/operations officer, and submarine '' NR-1'' as engineer officer. He served as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of 's Gold Crew before taking command of in March 1991. In 1992, he was awarded the

Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership The Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership is a United States Navy award established in 1980 by United States Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo to honor the inspirational leadership of James Stockdale, a Medal of H ...

by the commander of

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

. Following his command at sea, Greenert served as commander of Submarine Squadron 11, and Commander, Submarine Forces Pacific (COMSUBPAC) Representative West Coast from July 1996 to June 1997.

Flag assignments

In July 1997, Greenert reported as chief of staff for Commander,

United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the ...

, in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan. During his tour in Japan, he was selected for flag rank and subsequently served as commander of

United States Pacific Command The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Lead ...

, representative to

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces,

Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...

, from October 1998 through December 1999. On August 6, 2004, Greenert assumed command of Seventh Fleet. Greenert's shore assignments include tours as COMSUBPAC staff fire control officer, program analyst for Office of the

and the

Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and head of Navy Program Planning and Development Branch for the Chief of Naval Operations Staff in Washington, D.C. He served as director of the Operations Division in the Navy Comptroller Office from January 2000 through August 2002, and as deputy and chief of staff of U.S. Pacific Fleet from August 2002 until July 2004. On September 23, 2011, Greenert became the 30th Chief of Naval Operations, succeeding Admiral Gary Roughead.

Post-retirement

On March 3, 2016, the

announced that Greenert would become the third holder of the John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies (Shali Chair) at NBR. At NBR, Greenert brings to bear his years of experience in the U.S. Navy to help inform policy debates on critical issues pertaining to the Asia-Pacific through briefings of senior leaders, and research and writing. The board chairman of Arlington-based BAE Systems Inc.,

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. ...

, a former secretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

, announced on April 19, 2016, that retired Greenert was appointed to the board of directors for BAE Systems for a three-year term. "Admiral Greenert brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise from a distinguished, 40-year career as a senior military officer and government leader," Chertoff said in a statement. "His experience in management, operations, and strategic planning will be highly valuable, and I'm pleased to welcome him to the board."

Awards and decorations

Family

Greenert is married to Darleen Greenert, who was the Sponsor for the pre-commissioning unit (PCU) , and christened the

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

during a ceremony at

General Dynamics Electric Boat General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, Co ...

shipyard facility in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

, on 31 July 2021.,

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

/''Navy Times'', 2021-08-02

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenert, Jonathan 1953 births Chiefs of Naval Operations Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Living people People from Butler, Pennsylvania Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals Vice chiefs of Naval Operations Military personnel from Pennsylvania Members of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America National Bureau of Asian Research Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)