Michael Donald Haskins (born 8 September 1942) is a retired vice admiral in the

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 ...

who was appointed

Naval Inspector General The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Department of the Navy was established during World War II to make investigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. The current mission of the N ...

in 2000. From 26 September 2001 until his retirement on 1 January 2003, he was U.S.

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of Military aviation, military air power by Navy, 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 ...

's Gray Eagle.

Early life and education

Haskins was born in

Angels Camp, California Angels Camp, also known as City of Angels and formerly Angel's Camp, Angels, Angels City, Carson's Creek and Clearlake, is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,836 at the 2010 census, up ...

. He attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

, graduating first in his class in June 1966. Awarded a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, Haskins studied history at the

University of La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentina, Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It h ...

. Returning from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, he reported to flight training and was designated a naval aviator in September 1968. Selected as a Chief of Naval Operations Scholar in July 1973, he earned a master's degree in international relations and international economics at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

Military career

Haskins served with VP-49 in Keflavík, Iceland and VP-45 in Sigonella, Sicily and

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. In July 1980, he became training officer for Patrol Wing Two. Haskins became executive officer of

VP-22 VP-22 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 4D-14 (VP-4D14) on 15 September 1928, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-B (VP-4B) on 21 January 1931, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-F (VP-4F) on 17 July ...

in May 1981 and then served as commanding officer of the squadron from 28 May 1982 to 27 June 1983, deploying to Cubi Point, Philippines. He was given command of

VP-1 Patrol Squadron One (VP-1), established 15 February 1943, is an active aviation squadron of the United States Navy operating the Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft from its home port at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, United States. ...

from 27 June 1983 to 7 May 1984, deploying to

Kadena, Okinawa is a town located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2016, the town had an estimated population of 13,671 and a density of 910 persons per km². The total area is . Approximately 85% of the town is controlled by the ...

. Haskins later served as commanding officer of

VP-31 (This article is about the 1960s-90s training squadron not the 1940s VPB-31 anti-submarine patrol squadron which operated from Key West) VP-31, Patrol Squadron 31 was a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy. It was established on 30 ...

from 21 June 1985 to 18 July 1986. His promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

was approved by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in March 1986. Haskins was given command of Patrol Wing One from July 1988 to July 1990. He became the 74th Commandant of Midshipmen in December 1990. His promotion to

rear admiral (lower half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...

was authorized in April 1992. Haskins next served as commander of the

Iceland Defense Force The Iceland Defense Force ( is, Varnarlið Íslands; IDF) was a military command of the United States Armed Forces from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to prov ...

from August 1992 to August 1994. He was presented the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. ...

by the President of Iceland for his service. In October 1994, Haskins was given command of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Patrol Wings. His promotion to rear admiral was approved in June 1995. He served as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Japan from June 1996 to July 1998. Haskins was presented the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

by the Emperor of Japan for his service. In August 1998, Haskins became Deputy Commander in Chief of

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 ...

. Returning to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in July 2000, he was promoted to vice admiral and assumed command of the Office of Naval Inspector General in August.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskins, Michael Donald 1942 births Living people People from Calaveras County, California United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators Alumni of the University of Oxford United States Navy vice admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy Inspectors General