Samuel John Paparo Jr. (born 1964) is 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 ...

four-star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or flag ...

serving as the 64th 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� ...

, succeeding Admiral John C. Aquilino on May 5, 2021. He previously served as commander of the

United States Naval Forces Central Command United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists 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 United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...

. In previous command tours, Paparo commanded

Carrier Strike Group 10 Carrier Strike Group 10, abbreviated as CSG-10 or CARSTRKGRU 10, is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. Carrier strike groups gain and maintain sea control as well as project naval airpower ashore. , CSG-10 consist of , the strike group's current ...

from July 2017 to March 2018 and Carrier Air Wing 7 from August 2011 to December 2012. A native of

Morton, Pennsylvania Morton is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,778 at the 2020 census. Geography Morton is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.910612, -75.327273). It is bordered to the north, east, and west by ...

, Paparo is the son of a former enlisted Marine and the grandson of a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

enlisted sailor. As a youth, Paparo attended

Cardinal O'Hara High School Cardinal O'Hara High School is a coeducational Catholic high school of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is named after John Francis O'Hara who was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 to 1960. It is located in Spring ...

. He was commissioned in 1987 via the

NROTC 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 19 ...

program at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. He earned an M.A. degree in International Studies from Old Dominion University and an M.S. degree in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also graduated from the Air Command and Staff College, the Air War College, the Naval War College and the Joint and Combined Warfighting School.

Awards and decorations

References

1964 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Villanova University alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Old Dominion University alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal {{US-navy-bio-stub