Harold Webster Gehman Jr. (born October 15, 1942) 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 who served as

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), Commander-in-Chief of the

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 ...

, one of the United States'

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

s, and

Vice Chief of Naval Operations The vice chief of naval operations (VCNO) is the second highest-ranking commissioned United States Navy officer in the Department of the Navy and functions as the principal deputy of the chief of naval operations and by statute, the vice chief ...

. He was also the Co-Chairman of the Commission that investigated the terrorist attack on the USS ''Cole'' and was Chairman of the

Columbia Accident Investigation Board The ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. The panel determin ...

(CAIB) after the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated during reentry in 2003, killing all seven crew members.

Military career

Gehman was born in Norfolk, Virginia on October 15, 1942, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in

Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information a ...

and a commission in the Navy from the

Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps 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 1 ...

. A Surface Warfare Officer, he served at all levels of leadership and command in

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

s and cruisers. During the course of his career, Gehman had five sea commands in ranks from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral. Gehman served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

as Officer in Charge of a Swift patrol boat and later in

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Với Khu Kinh T� ...

as Officer in Charge of a detachment of six swift boats and their crews. He subsequently served as executive officer of from March 1971 to February 1973. Gehman attended the

Armed 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 ...

from August 1975 to January 1976. He then commanded from January 1976 to June 1978, from December 1980 to September 1983, from February 1988 to June 1989 and Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8 from July 1993 to July 1994. His staff assignments were both afloat on a

Carrier Battle Group A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an ai ...

staff and ashore on a fleet commander's staff, a Unified Commander's staff and in Washington, D.C. on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (four tours). Promoted to four-star Admiral in 1996, he became the 29th Vice Chief of Naval Operations in September 1996. As Vice Chief of Naval Operations he was a member 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 ...

, formulated the Navy's $70 billion budget and developed and implemented policies governing the 375,000 people in the Navy. Assigned in September 1997 as Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic and Commander-in-Chief,

United States Atlantic Command United States Atlantic Command (acronym from 1947-1993 USLANTCOM, after 1993 USACOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United State ...

(later changed to Joint Forces Command), he became one of NATO's two military commanders and assumed command of all forces of all four services in the continental United States and became responsible for the provision of ready forces to the other Unified Commanders in Chief and for the development of new joint doctrine, training and requirements. He retired from the Navy in October 2000.

Awards and decorations

Post military

In retirement, Gehman has served as chairman of the

, co-chair, with retired general William W. Crouch, of the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

's Cole Commission, on the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end ...

(BRAC) committee, and is a Senior Fellow of the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

's Capstone Program.

Personal

Gehman is married to Janet F. Johnson and they have two children, Katherine and Christopher.

References

External links

Gehman Bio (from US Naval Academy)

Gehman Bio (from National Defense University)
' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gehman, Harold W. Jr. 1942 births Living people Penn State College of Engineering alumni Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Joint Forces Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Vice Chiefs of Naval Operations Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal