John Collins Harvey Jr. (born December 17, 1951) is a former

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 Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

who last served as the 31st

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

from July 24, 2009 to September 14, 2012. He previously served as Director, Navy Staff (N09B) from March 24, 2008 to July 23, 2009. Prior to that, he served as the 54th

Chief of Naval Personnel The Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) is responsible for overall manpower readiness for the United States Navy. As such the CNP is the highest ranking human resources officer in the Navy. The CNP also serves as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Ma ...

and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training & Education) (N1) from November 2005 to April 2008. He retired from the navy after more than 39 years of service. Harvey was born and raised in

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, Maryland and graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in 1969. He received his commission 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 1973 and immediately commenced training in the navy's Nuclear Propulsion program. In 1988, he received a master's degree in Public Administration from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

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Naval career

Harvey has served at sea on the , , , as Reactor Officer on the , and as Executive Officer on the . He commanded , and Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight/Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group. He has deployed to the North and South Atlantic; the Mediterranean, Baltic and Red Seas; the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. Harvey's shore assignments includes two tours at the

Bureau of Naval Personnel The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Nava ...

, as the Senior Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy), as Director, Total Force Programming and Manpower Management Division (OPNAV N12), and as Deputy for Warfare Integration (OPNAV N7F). On November 22, 2005, Harvey was promoted to vice admiral and assumed duties as the navy's 54th

and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training & Education). On January 24, 2008, Harvey was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for reappointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as Director, Navy Staff (N09B). He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on March 13, 2008.Senate Confirmation
With the removal of previous Director, Navy Staff, Vice Admiral John Stufflebeem, Harvey assumed those duties on March 24, 2008. On April 15, 2009, Harvey was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for appointment to the grade of

and assignment as

. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 4, 2009, and assumed the assignment on July 24, 2009. On December 16, 2011, the United States Navy's ''Old Salt'' designation was passed to Harvey, making him the longest-serving Surface Warfare Officer currently on active duty within the United States Navy.

Use of social media

Harvey is active in the naval blogosphere, often posting at the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

's blog. As Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command, he maintained his own blog.

Post-military career

Harvey was appointed as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Virginia Governor

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

. In accordance with legislation signed by Governor McAuliffe in March 2014, his post was renamed as the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs.John Harvey-Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs-Governor Terry McAuliffe
/ref> In October of 2017 Harvey became the Director of Strategy, Forces and Resources Division (SFRD) at the

Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...

in Alexandria VA.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Official website of the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces CommandVirginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, John C. Jr. Living people United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Naval Academy alumni Phillips Exeter Academy alumni 1951 births Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal State cabinet secretaries of Virginia Harvard Kennedy School alumni