Ronald A. Route (born October 24, 1949) is a retired Vice Admiral and former

Naval Inspector General The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Department of the Navy was established during World War II to make investigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. The current mission of the Na ...

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 a former President of the Naval War College. On July 16, 2013, Vice Admiral Route was named President of 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 ...

Naval career

A native of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, Route 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 1971, and subsequently completed a series of command and leadership assignments both within the Navy and in the Joint Service arena. He commanded the guided-missile destroyer , the guided-missile cruiser ,

Cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

Group Two, and the Carrier Battle Group. In addition to his afloat commands, he served at sea with Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two and Destroyer

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

Four, and aboard the guided-missile cruiser , the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, the guided-missile cruiser , and the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. Ashore, Route commanded the

Navy Warfare Development Command The Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC) is a command of the United States Navy for the generation and development of innovations in concepts and doctrine for enhanced operational level maritime capability and integration in joint and coalitio ...

(NWDC). From 9 July 2003 to 12 August 2004, he was the 50th officer to serve as President of the Naval War College since the colleges founding in 1884. During his tour as president, he sharpened the colleges focus on mission and relevance; initiated research, analysis, and wargaming to address key operational concerns of the U.S. Navy such as ballistic missile defense and

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...

and established the Halsey Scholars, an advanced research program for selected students; and facilitated discussions between retired Soviet Navy officers and their American counterparts on

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

naval history. Route assumed his duties as Naval Inspector General in August 2004 after leaving the presidency of the Naval War College. His other

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

assignments included two tours on 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 ...

staff, first as Director, Politico-Military Affairs Division (N52) and later as Director, Navy Programming Division (N80), where he developed and prioritized a multi-year spending plan for the Navy's $80–$100 billion annual budget. Routes

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

assignments also included Executive Assistant to the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

(Manpower and Reserve Affairs) for three assistant secretaries in two presidential administrations, Long-Range Planner and Surface Ship Readiness analyst in the Chief of Naval Operations's Program Resource Appraisal Division (now N81), and Naval Warfare Analyst in the Joint Analysis Directorate (now part of J8), within the Organization of 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 ...

. Route retired from the Navy in January 2008 after more than 36 years on active duty.stillsecure.com "StillSecure Announces Federal Advisory Board with Representatives from Military Branches and Civilian Agencies"
/ref> In October 2013, Route became the second civilian president of the Naval Postgraduate School. He presided over the university as it rose from restrictions resulting from a Naval Inspector General's report. Route's accomplishments in moving NPS forward are highly significant. He retired from NPS in January 2019 having made NPS a much stronger university educating military officers, first responders, and Pentagon civilians with masters and doctoral degrees.

Education

Route holds 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 ...

degree in

Systems Engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering util ...

from the U.S. Naval Academy and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in

Operations Research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...

from the

. Selected for a Navy Federal Executive Fellowship in 1996, he completed a year-long assignment as a military

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

at the

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 City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and subsequently was invited to become a Council member in June 1998.

Awards and decorations

Routes personal decorations include the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(six awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), the Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal (two awards). * Navy Distinguished Service ribbon

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

with one

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Defense Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

Defense Meritorious Service Medal * Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

Meritorious Service Medal *

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation ribbon

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two Gold Stars *

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement ribbon

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Gold Star

References

''This article includes

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

text produced by the United States Navy.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Route, Ronald A. Living people 1940s births United States Navy admirals United States Navy Inspectors General Naval Postgraduate School alumni Presidents of the Naval War College United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Denver Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Naval career

Education

Awards and decorations

See also

References