Stephen Thomas Koehler (born 15 April 1964) 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 ...

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 serves as the commander of the

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� ...

. He previously served as the director for strategy, plans, and policy 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, ...

from 2022 to 2024 and as commander of the

United States Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...

from 2021 to 2022.

Early life and education

Koehler was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, and raised in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, where he graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1982. He earned 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 ...

in Physics from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

in 1986. Koehler holds a master's 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 ...

and also graduated from the Joint Staff College and the Navy Nuclear Power Program.

Naval career

Koehler was commissioned through the

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...

(NROTC) in 1986 and designated a naval aviator in March 1989. His command tours include the Pukin' Dogs of Fighter Squadron (VF/VFA) 143, , , and Carrier Strike Group 9. Other seaborne assignments include tours in Fighter Squadron (VF) 211, VF-41 and executive officer of the . He was the Director of Operations of the

United States Indo-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 ...

from June 2018 to October 2020. Koehler was originally slated to replace Andrew L. Lewis as commander of the

United States Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for operations in the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. Established after World War II, Second Fleet was deactivated in 2011, when the United States gov ...

and

Joint Force Command Norfolk Joint Force Command - Norfolk (JFC-NF) is a joint operational level command part of the NATO Military Command Structure under Allied Command Operations. Its headquarters is located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. It is the functional successo ...

in March 2020; despite being confirmed by the Senate, he did not assume command. In April 2022, Koehler was nominated for assignment as director for strategy, plans, and policy of the

and senior member of the

Military Staff Committee The Military Staff Committee (MSC) is the United Nations Security Council subsidiary body whose role, as defined by the United Nations Charter, is to plan UN military operations

of the United Nations. In July 2023, Koehler was nominated for promotion to admiral with assignment as commander of the

Awards and decorations

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Koehler, Stephen 1964 births Living people Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia Military personnel from San Diego University of Colorado Boulder alumni United States Naval Aviators Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal