Robert Frederick Willard is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the 22nd Commander,

U.S. 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 region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Its commander, ...

from October 19, 2009 to March 9, 2012. He previously served as

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

, U.S. Pacific Fleet from May 8, 2007, to September 25, 2009. Prior to that, he served as the 34th

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 March 18, 2005, to April 2007. On March 9, 2012, Admiral Willard retired from the Navy after 39 years of service. On May 9, 2012, he was elected president and chief executive officer of the

Institute of Nuclear Power Operations The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is an organization established in 1979 by the U.S. nuclear power industry in response to recommendations by the Kemeny Commission Report, following the investigation ...

, succeeding retired Navy admiral James O. Ellis Jr.

Navy career

Willard is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

native. In 1969, he graduated from

East Longmeadow High School East Longmeadow High School is a public high school located in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only secondary school (high school) in the East Longmeadow School District. It enrolls 833 students. On November 7, 2023, th ...

East Longmeadow, Massachusetts East Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts. It had a population of 16,430 at the 2020 census. East Longmeadow is southeast of downtown Springfiel ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree 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 1973. He also holds a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

engineering management Engineering management is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organi ...

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 was a fellow at

MIT Seminar XXI ''MIT Seminar XXI'' is an educational program for national security professionals run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Originally for military leaders when begun in 1986, leaders from various government, non-government, and p ...

. An

F-14 The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...

naval aviator, Willard served consecutively in Fighter Squadron 24 (VF-24), Fighter Squadron 124 (VF-124), and Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2) at

NAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a commu ...

, deploying aboard , , and . He then joined

Navy Fighter Weapons School The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as Top Gun (stylized as TOPGUN), is a United States Navy training program that teaches air combat maneuvering tactics and techniques to se ...

Top Gun as Operations Officer and

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 ...

, as well as aerial coordinator for the

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

film ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and 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 ...

''. In 1987, Willard reported to Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51), where 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 ...

and

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the Screaming Eagles, embarked in

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) USS ''Carl Vinson'' (CVN-70) is the United States Navy's third supercarrier. She is named for Carl Vinson (1883–1981), a congressman from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, in recognition of his contributions to the U.S. Navy. The ship was launch ...

. He subsequently attended Navy Nuclear Power Training before rejoining Carl Vinson as Executive Officer. Willard then commanded the flagships and in various operations including

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, and the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. As a flag officer, Willard has served on the Joint Staff as Deputy Director for Operations (Current Readiness and Capabilities); Commander. In 1998–1999, he attended

. He also served on Carrier Group Five embarked in ; Deputy and Chief of Staff, Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, Hawaii; Commander, Seventh Fleet, embarked in 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; and Director for Force Structure, Resources and Assessment (DJ8) on the

Joint Chiefs of 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 secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

. From March 2005 to April 2007, Willard was the 34th

. After, he was the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet from May 8, 2007, until September 25, 2009, when he was relieved by Admiral

Patrick M. Walsh Patrick Michael Walsh (born January 13, 1955) is a former United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the 59th Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet from September 25, 2009 to January 20, 2012. He served as the 35th Vice Chief of Na ...

. As the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, he was responsible for the world's largest fleet command, encompassing and more than 170 ships and submarines, 1,300 aircraft, and 122,000 Sailors, Reservists and civilians. He was named a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in late 2018.

Popular culture

Willard appeared in and was a consultant for the 1986 film ''

''. He pilots the “ MiG-28” that receives "the bird" from Goose and Maverick. In March 2010, a video in which Rep.

Hank Johnson Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, inclu ...

expressed his concern to Willard that the island of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

might "capsize" and "tip over" due to overpopulation of military equipment and personnel went viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of views from thehill.com, hotair.com and latimes.com and was ultimately seen over three million times. Willard reassured the Congressman, "we don't anticipate that", for which he received wide popular admiration.

Awards and decorations

References

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public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

.''

External links

Navy Leadership Biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Robert 1950 births Living people United States Naval Aviators United States Navy admirals Military personnel from Los Angeles Recipients of the Legion of Merit Honorary officers of the Order of Australia United States Naval Academy alumni Vice chiefs of Naval Operations Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal 21st-century American naval officers 20th-century American naval officers Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)