James Franklin "Frank" Caldwell Jr. (born March 24, 1959) is a retired

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

who last served as director of the

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Naval Reactors (NR), which administers the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear reactors ...

, a job once held by the program's creator, Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reacto ...

. He previously served as

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 n ...

. From August 31, 2022 to his retirement, Caldwell was the Navy's

Old Goat In United States Naval Academy terminology, the Old Goat is the longest-serving Naval Academy graduate on active duty. Since 2014, the designation has been accompanied by an award created by a previous Old Goat, Rear Admiral Alton L. Stocks. ...

, the longest serving United States Naval Academy graduate on active duty, having received the award and accompanying title from Admiral William K. Lescher.

Naval career

Caldwell received his commission graduating with distinction from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering; he is a fifth-generation Academy graduate. He holds a Master of Science in operations research from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

. Caldwell’s early sea tours include serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. His operational assignments include duty as a division officer on , engineering officer on (GOLD), and executive officer on . Caldwell commanded home ported in Norfolk, Virginia;

Submarine Development Squadron 12 A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

in New London, Connecticut; and Submarine Group 9 in Bangor, Washington. In his most recent afloat command, he commanded SUBPAC (Submarine Forces Pacific) as

COMSUBPAC The Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet ( COMPACFLT) for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force (SUBPAC) includes attack, ballistic missile and ...

. Ashore, Caldwell served on the Pacific Fleet Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, and later as Undersea Warfare Requirements officer on the staff of Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He also served as senior member of the Naval Submarine Force’s Tactical Readiness Evaluation Team, on the Joint Staff as deputy director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia and Africa, and deputy commander for

U.S. Strategic Command The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear ...

's Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike in Omaha, Nebraska. On August 5, 2015, Caldwell was confirmed by the US Senate to become admiral. Caldwell assumed his duties as the seventh director of

Naval Reactors Naval Reactors (NR), which administers the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear reactors ...

on August 14, 2015, normally an eight-year term.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Navy Biography

U.S Naval Inspector General
official webpage {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, James F. Jr. United States Navy admirals Living people 1959 births United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy inspectors general Recipients of the Legion of Merit