Paul C. Spedero Jr. (born 1968) is a

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 ...

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 ...

and

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

who has served as the vice director for operations of the

Joint 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 United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

since June 2023. He most recently served as the commander of

Carrier Strike Group 8 Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, abbreviated as CCSG-8 or COMCARSTRKGRU 8, is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the United States Fleet Forces Command. the group flagship is the ''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier ...

from May 31, 2022 to June 1, 2023. He most recently served as commander of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command from July 9, 2021 to May 23, 2022, and prior to that as director for fleet integrated readiness and analysis on the staff of the

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) 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 ...

. Spedero's command tours include serving as commanding officer of the from November 2015 to August 2018, commanding officer of from December 2013 to its decommissioning in April 2015 and commander of the “Sidewinders” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA)-86. He was promoted to his present rank on September 1, 2019. A native of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, Spedero earned his commission from the NROTC program in

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

in 1990 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering, and was designated a naval aviator in 1992. He earned an M.A. degree in National Security and Strategic Studies 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 ...

, an M.S. degree in Engineering Management from

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

, and a degree in French from the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

. In February 2023, he was nominated for promotion to

References

External links

* Living people 1968 births Military personnel from Springfield, Massachusetts Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Naval War College alumni Old Dominion University alumni Defense Language Institute alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Naval Aviators United States Navy rear admirals (lower half) {{US-navy-bio-stub