Fernandez Lewis "Frank" Ponds (born 1959) is a former

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 ...

officer from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

of Alabama. He is the former commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship and commanded the destroyer in the early 2000s. He is also a former executive officer of the destroyer .

Early life and education

Ponds is originally from

Autaugaville, Alabama Autaugaville is a town in Autauga County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 795. It is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Autaugaville is located at (32.432563, -86.658752). The town ...

and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1982 with a B.A. degree. He later earned an M.S. degree in military studies from the

Marine Corps Command and Staff College Marine Corps University is a professional military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Master's Degrees. ...

, an M.S. degree in information systems technology from the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

and an M.S. degree in national security strategy from the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Career

2000s

Ponds is a former executive officer of .

2003

Ponds was the last commanding officer of the , which he commanded from 2001 to when the ship was decommissioned in February 2003.

2007-2009

In 2007, he took command of

Amphibious Squadron PHIBRON is a United States Navy abbreviation for Amphibious Squadron. It is a tactical and administrative organization composed of amphibious assault shipping to transport troops and their equipment for an amphibious assault operation. Before the a ...

EIGHT (embarked onboard ), receiving the honorary title of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

. This period saw him engaged as Mission Commander of anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia; Operation Sea Angel II providing relief hurricane relief efforts in Bangladesh; and Operation Continuing Promise which included additional relief efforts in hurricane ravaged

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

2010s

2015

In April 2015 his appointment as the fifteenth commandant of

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the base. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command. Since January 2002 the command has ...

was announced. Ponds retired from the U.S. Navy in late 2015.

Awards and decorations

Ponds has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (four), Meritorious Service Medal (five), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Personal life

Ponds is married and has two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponds, Fernandez Lewis 1959 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Autauga County, Alabama University of Alabama alumni Military personnel from Alabama African-American United States Navy personnel Marine Corps University alumni George Washington University alumni National Defense University alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal