Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Robert Dunham Reilly Jr. (born 1953) was 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 ...

Surface Warfare Flag Officer who retired from active duty in January 2010 after 34-plus years of military service. His last assignment was as the 24th commander of the U.S. Navy's

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

(MSC).

Biography

Reilly, a native of Winnetka, Illinois, is a graduate of New Trier High School's West Campus. He comes from a family with more than a century of service in the United States armed forces including his great grandfather Army Captain Henry Joseph Reilly and grand uncle Army Brigadier General Henry Joseph Reilly, Jr. Commissioned in 1975 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, he first served aboard the as Electronic Material Officer, Combat Information Center Officer and Damage Control Assistant. His other shipboard tours included commissioning the as its first Operations Officer; Engineering Officer aboard the ; Executive Officer of the ''Spruance''-class destroyer ; and as Commanding Officer of the . Reilly's additional operational tours at sea included duties as Flag Secretary, Cruiser Destroyer Group One, where he participated in the western Pacific and Southwest Asia deployments of the and Battleship Battle Groups, and the Carrier Battle Group; and command of

Destroyer Squadron A destroyer squadron is a Squadron (naval), naval squadron or flotilla usually consisting of destroyers rather than other types of vessel. In some navies other vessels, such as frigates, may be included. In English the word "squadron" tends to be ...

Fifty (COMDESRON 50), homeported in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He also commanded Cruiser Destroyer Group Two and the Carrier Strike Group ( CSG-10). Ashore, Reilly served as Operations Readiness Assessment Officer, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet staff in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Surface Warfare and Weapons Procurement Analyst, Program Resource Appraisal Division (N81), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; Surface Warfare Junior Officer Assignment Branch Head (PERS 412), Bureau of Naval Personnel; Joint Operations Division Pacific Command Division Chief, Joint Staff (J3); Director, Environmental Readiness, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO N45); and as Deputy Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Information Technology (CNO N098) and Department of the Navy Deputy Chief Information Officer (Navy). Reilly assumed command of the Military Sealift Command in March 2006. During his tenure MSC returned nearly $1 billion to the Navy’s budget through improved business practices; won awards for contracting excellence, competitive procurement, small business, safety and environmental responsibility; improved energy efficiencies; placed additional helicopter detachments aboard U.S. navy fleet logistics ships, saving $700 million in cost avoidance over 20 years; deployed the U.S. Navy's two hospital ships and on five humanitarian and civic assistance missions treating more than 370,000 patients in 25 countries; evacuated 6,700 U.S. citizens from Beirut to safety in 2006; and delivered of combat equipment and supplies and of fuel to U.S. and coalition forces ashore in Iraq and Afghanistan with a 98 percent on-time delivery record. Reilly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, and a Master's in Public Administration (National Resources) 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 ...

. He is also a 1993 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Medals and Awards: Navy Distinguished Service Medal,

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

, Legion of Merit with three Gold Stars, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Service Medal with two Gold Stars, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with one Gold Star, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Citation with two Bronze Stars, Navy "E" Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with one Bronze Star, Humanitarian Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with one Silver Star and one Bronze Star, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal

References

4. Official Transcript of Naval Service for Rear Admiral Robert D. Reilly, Jr. U.S. Navy

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Robert D. Jr. 1953 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Winnetka, Illinois New Trier High School alumni University of Washington alumni George Washington University alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal