James Franklin "Frank" Caldwell Jr. (born March 24, 1959) is an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the

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 ...

who currently serves as director of the

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Naval Reactors (NR), also known as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion p ...

, a job once held by the program's creator, Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...

. He previously served as

Naval Inspector General The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Department of the Navy was established during World War II to make investigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. The current mission of the Na ...

. Caldwell is currently the Navy's Old Goat, the longest serving United States Naval Academy graduate on active duty, having received the award and accompanying title from Admiral William K. Lescher on August 31, 2022.

Naval career

Caldwell received his commission graduating with distinction from 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 ...

in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering; he is a fifth-generation Academy graduate. He holds a Master of Science in operations research 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 ...

. Caldwell’s early sea tours include serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. His operational assignments include duty as a division officer on , engineering officer on (GOLD), and executive officer on . Caldwell commanded home ported in Norfolk, Virginia;

Submarine Development Squadron 12 A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

in New London, Connecticut; and Submarine Group 9 in Bangor, Washington. In his most recent afloat command, he commanded SUBPAC (Submarine Forces Pacific) as

COMSUBPAC Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet ( COMPACFLT) for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force (SUBPAC) includes attack, ballistic missile and aux ...

. Ashore, Caldwell served on the Pacific Fleet Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, and later as Undersea Warfare Requirements officer on the staff of Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He also served as senior member of the Naval Submarine Force’s Tactical Readiness Evaluation Team, on the Joint Staff as deputy director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia and Africa, and deputy commander for U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike in Omaha, Nebraska. On August 5, 2015, Caldwell was confirmed by the US Senate to become admiral. Caldwell assumed his duties as the seventh director of

Naval Reactors Naval Reactors (NR), also known as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion p ...

on August 14, 2015, normally an eight-year term.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Navy Biography

U.S Naval Inspector General
official webpage {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, James F. Jr. United States Navy admirals Living people 1959 births United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy Inspectors General Recipients of the Legion of Merit