Joseph P. Aucoin (born April 25, 1957) is a retired officer of 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 ...

and former commander of the

United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

Career

Vice Admiral Aucoin graduated from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

with a

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 ...

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and received his commission through the University of North Carolina

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officers 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 192 ...

program in 1980. He was designated a naval flight officer in 1981 and reported to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) for initial training in the

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

. He has served in five different Fleet and Fleet Replacement Squadron F-14 fighter squadrons, to include command of

VF-41 Fighter Squadron 41 or VF-41 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as VF-75A on 1 June 1945, redesignated as VF-75 on 1 August 1945, redesignated as VF-3B on 15 November 1946, redesignated as VF-41 on 1 September 19 ...

. He is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and has also commanded

Carrier Air Wing Five Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . It was initially formed in 1943. It has participated in the Second Wor ...

(CVW-5),

Carrier Strike Group Three Carrier Strike Group 3 (CSG-3 or CARSTRKGRU 3) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore. The aircraft carrier is the group's current flagship. Other units ...

(CSG-3), and was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Systems before taking command of U.S. 7th Fleet. He is also an Arthur S. Moreau Scholar and holds master's degrees in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

from

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 ...

and in National Security Studies and Strategic Affairs 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 associat ...

. Speaking at ''West 2017'' Conference in February 2017, Aucoin stated, "If there's a fight tonight, it's probably going to happen on the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

." Following a collision between the Seventh Fleet destroyer and an oil tanker, the second such collision that resulted in fatalities in two months (see also USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal collision), as well as lesser incidents involving and , Aucoin was relieved of his command on August 23, 2017, by Vice Admiral Phillip G. Sawyer, deputy 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� ...

, due to "loss of confidence in his ability to command."

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aucoin, Joseph 1957 births Living people Harvard Kennedy School alumni Naval War College alumni North Carolina State University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Silver Star United States Naval Aviators United States Navy vice admirals