John Christopher Aquilino (born 1961) is an admiral 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 ...

, serving as the commander of the

United States Indo-Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its inception in 1947, ...

since April 30, 2021. He previously served as the 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� ...

and before that, commander of the

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 ...

and Combined Maritime Forces.

Naval career

Aquilino graduated 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 1984, earning a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He subsequently entered flight training and earned his wings in August 1986. Aquilino graduated from the

Navy Fighter Weapons School The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as Top Gun (stylized as TOPGUN), teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers, wh ...

(Top Gun), the

Joint Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multina ...

and completed

Harvard Kennedy School 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 ...

's Executive Education Program in National and International Security. Aquilino's operational assignments include numerous fighter squadrons flying the F-14 A/B Tomcat and the F-18 C/E/F Hornet. His fleet assignments include the Ghost Riders of Fighter Squadron (VF) 142 and the Black Aces 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 commanded the Red Rippers of

VF-11 Fighter Squadron 11 or VF-11 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was originally established as VF-5 on 1 February 1927, redesignated as VF-5S on 1 July 1927, redesignated as VF-5B in January 1928, redesignated VB-1B on 1 July 1928, ...

Carrier Air Wing 2 Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . Subordinate units CVW-2 consists of 9 Squadrons History 1940s-50s Origi ...

and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2/ ''George H.W. Bush'' Strike Group. He has made extended deployments in support of Operations

Deny Flight Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mis ...

Deliberate Force Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in concert with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the ...

, Southern Watch,

Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and

Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

Deputy Secretary Sherman and INDOPACOM Commander Admiral John Aquilino

Aquilino's shore tour assignments include duties as an

adversary An adversary is generally considered to be a person, group, or force that opposes and/or attacks. Adversary may also refer to: * Satan ("adversary" in Hebrew), in Judeo-Christian religion Entertainment Fiction * Adversary (comics), villain fro ...

instructor pilot flying the A-4, F-5 and F-16N aircraft for the Challengers of VF-43; operations officer of Strike Weapons and Tactics School, Atlantic; flag aide to the vice chief of naval operations; special assistant for weapons and advanced development in the Office of the Legislative Affairs for the Secretary of Defense; director of air wing readiness and training for Commander, Naval Air Forces, Atlantic Fleet; and executive assistant to the commander, United States Fleet Forces Command. Aquilino's flag assignments include director of strategy and policy (J5),

United States Joint Forces Command United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray O ...

; deputy director, joint force coordinator (J31), the

Joint 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 ...

; commander, CSG-2, director of maritime operations, United States Pacific Fleet (N04); deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy (N3/N5); and as commander, United States Naval Forces Central Command, United States 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces. Aquilino assumed duties as commander, United States Pacific Fleet, on May 17, 2018, the 63rd commander since the fleet's Pearl Harbor headquarters was established in February 1941. He was relieved of the same duties on the morning of April 30, 2021, by Stephen T. Koehler before relieving Philip S. Davidson as commander of Indo-Pacific Command later that day.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

US Navy Biography: John C. Aquilino
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquilino, John C. 1961 births Living people People from Huntington, New York United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Honorary Officers of the Order of Australia