Eugene Henry Black III (born 1964) is a

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 ...

vice admiral and career

surface warfare officer The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surf ...

who serves as the deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy since October 7, 2022. He previously served as the 30th Commander of

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

, deputy commander of

United States Naval Forces Europe United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, CNE-CNA was previously referred to as United States Naval Forces ...

, deputy commander of United States Naval Forces Africa, and as the

Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Joint Force Maritime Component Command (JFMCC) (pronounced ''"Jiff-Mick"''), is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. The Joint Force Maritime Component Commander refers to an individual of flag officer that is responsible for mari ...

from June 2020 to September 2022.

Early life and education

A New Jersey native, Black is a 1986 graduate of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. He later earned a Master of Science degree in Management from the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

in March 1994.

Naval career

At sea, Black served as commanding officer of from January 2010 until November 2011. While in command, Leyte Gulf deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

and North Arabian Sea. Black commanded from May 2004 until January 2006, also deployed to the Persian Gulf. Black's other sea duty assignments include executive officer on , weapons officer and combat systems officer on board , fire control officer on USS ''Leyte Gulf'', combat information center officer and damage control assistant on board and the staff of the Commander, South Atlantic Force, United States Atlantic Fleet. Black's shore duty assignments include director, Surface Warfare Officer Distribution,

Navy Personnel Command The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Nava ...

Millington, Tennessee Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee Stat ...

; Future Ships branch head, Surface Warfare Directorate (N86) on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations; and Afghanistan/Pakistan Politico-Military Policy branch head, Joint Staff, Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), in Washington, D.C. Other assignments include Commander detailer, Navy Personnel Command and Surface Warfare Officer School department head instructor, Newport, Rhode Island. For his first flag officer assignment, he served as deputy commander, United States Naval Forces Central Command/

United States Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...

Manama, Bahrain Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...

from June 2015 until July 2017. Following this assignment, he commanded

Carrier Strike Group Eight 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 September 2017 to April 2019. He served as the director, Surface Warfare Division, N96, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. from May 2019 to May 2020. Black assumed duties as commander of

, deputy commander of United States Naval Forces Europe and United States Naval Forces Africa, and as

in June 2020, and served in this position until September 2022. In April 2022, Black was nominated for appointment as deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans, and strategy.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Eugene H. Date of birth missing (living people) 1964 births Living people United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from New Jersey United States Navy officers Naval Postgraduate School alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals