Henry Lawrence Garrett III (born June 24, 1939) served as the 68th

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 ...

from May 15, 1989, to June 26, 1992, in the administration of George H. W. Bush. Before leading the Department of the Navy, he served as

General Counsel of the Department of Defense The General Counsel of the Department of Defense is the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense (DoD), advising both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on all legal matters and services, and providing legal advice to Office of the Secr ...

Career

Cheney delivering speech before an AEGIS ship is commissioned

Garrett served in the U.S. Navy from October 1961 to November 1981, initially as a machinist's mate aboard during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, before getting commissioned as a naval flight officer in 1964. He served with

VP-50 VP-50 was a long-lived Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy, having held that designation for 39 years from 1953 to 1992. Its nickname was the ''Blue Dragons''. Originally established as VP-917 on 18 July 1946, redesignated Medium Patrol Squadron ...

in the

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 ...

from 1965 to 1967 and was awarded the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

two times during his military career. Garrett was the 68th United States Secretary of the Navy. Garrett ultimately resigned due to the

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 ...

References

External links

* 1939 births Living people Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Secretaries of the Navy University of San Diego alumni United States Under Secretaries of the Navy Recipients of the Air Medal George H. W. Bush administration personnel {{US-navy-bio-stub