Jeffrey L. Fowler (born May 25, 1956) 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 who served as the 60th

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

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 ...

until his retirement in August 2010.

Early life and career

Born in May 1956 and raised in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

, he received his commission from the

in 1978. Following a successful interview with 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 was subsequently trained in the Navy's

nuclear propulsion Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that use some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. The idea of using nuclear material for propulsion dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903 it was ...

and

submarine 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 ...

programs. Fowler served at sea as a junior officer aboard , as Engineer Officer for , and 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, o ...

for the Pre-commissioning Unit and . He commanded and Submarine Squadron Three, responsible for eight nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. Fowler has deployed to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

oceans, and 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 ...

. Ashore, Fowler served as a submarine tactics instructor at Naval Submarine Training Center, Pacific; as a junior member on the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board on the staff of the commander in chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; as the head, Submarine Programs Section of the Programming Division (N80) on the staff of the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

; deputy executive assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (N8) and the vice chairman,

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, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

; the Pacific submarine force prospective commanding officer instructor; and as the executive assistant to the commander, U.S. Strategic Command.

Flag officer

Following selection to

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

, Fowler served as commander, Navy Recruiting Command and director, Naval Europe/Sixth Fleet plans and operations; deputy commander,

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 ...

; Commander Submarines, Allied Naval Forces South; commander, Submarine Group 8; and commander, Task Forces 164/69. Fowler relieved Vice Admiral Rodney P. Rempt as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy on June 8, 2007. In August 2007, Fowler unveiled new plans for the Naval Academy, stating that the school was focusing too much on extracurriculars. Some of the new changes include mandatory study time each night for all midshipmen, secured all weekday liberty (which seniors had Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and Juniors Tuesday and Friday), and mandatory meals Sunday night through Friday night. Fowler stressed, however, that the academy was not in a state of emergency, and that these changes were merely to keep the recent graduates ready to enter into wartime service. He cast the changes as having more to do with preparing future Navy and Marine officers for wartime duty than with cracking down on misbehavior.

We are a nation at war," he said. "If any campus should understand being a nation at war, it's the United States Naval Academy.

Retirement

Fowler stepped down as superintendent of the Naval Academy in August 2010 (30 days earlier than his scheduled relief) amidst controversy over financial irregularities at the academy as well as multiple honor-code violations by USNA midshipmen. He was succeeded by in this post by Vice Admiral

Michael H. Miller Michael Harold "Mike" Miller (born June 4, 1952) is a former vice admiral in the United States Navy, and was the first active-duty officer to direct the White House Military Office. He was the 61st Superintendent of the United States Naval Acad ...

. His wife, Katie Fowler, is sponsor of the new

Virginia-class submarine The ''Virginia'' class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines, in service in the United States Navy. Designed by General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Indust ...

. In April 2021, Golden Key Group announced Fowler's promotion to president of the Reston, Virginia-based professional services company.

Education

*1978

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

degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

, Annapolis, Maryland *1985

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree,

Chaminade University of Honolulu Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachelor's degrees in ...

, Honolulu, Hawaii *1990

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree,

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts *2002 National Security Studies,

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, Syracuse, New York *2003 Fellow,

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, New York, New York

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Jeffery 1956 births United States Navy vice admirals United States Naval Academy alumni People from Bismarck, North Dakota Chaminade University of Honolulu alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Syracuse University alumni Living people Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy