Robert Joseph Kelly (born March 4, 1938) is a retired

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 ...

four star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star ...

who served as Commander in Chief,

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� ...

(CINCPACFLT) from 1991 to 1994.

Biography

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kelly graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1959 and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1961. Kelly's flying career included air combat in

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Staff tours included 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 ...

and in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. He was a graduate of the Navy Nuclear Training Program, and went on to command . On 28 April 1983, he was guiding USS ENTERPRISE home from an 8 month WESTPAC deployment when the ship ran aground near its home port of Alameda. In a news conference, then Captain Kelly said bluntly: 'I am the captain and I was in control. I am totally responsible for what happened.” He served as Vice Director of Operations for the

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 ...

, Director of the

Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...

at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

, and Deputy

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 ...

for Plans, Policy, and Operations. His final naval assignment was as Commander in Chief,

(CINCPACFLT) from 1991 to 1994. During his time at CINCPACTFLT he punished a number of subordinates for clear violations of the Navy's policy against sexist behavior. Later, at a staff meeting, he repeated a previously heard funny and slightly sexually explicit joke at a staff meeting and was subsequently rebuked for it by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations in a politically charged time due to the Tailhook Scandal. He was the senior

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

at the 1991

Tailhook scandal The Tailhook scandal was a military scandal in which United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted up to 83 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at t ...

, and was subsequently recommended for forced retirement by

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

John Howard Dalton. After retirement, he was the Executive Vice President of The Wing Group, a leading international developer of energy projects. In March 1999, Kelly became the President and

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

of Energetics, Inc., an energy consulting company and wholly owned subsidiary of the

VSE Corporation VSE Corporation () is a diversified products and services company providing repair services, distribution, logistics, supply chain management support and consulting services for land, sea, and air transportation assets in the public and private ...

. Kelly has been the president of Pensacola Country Club.

References

1938 births Living people United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit American chief operating officers {{USN-bio-stub