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

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 ...

four-star

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 ...

who last served as the 31st

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United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) 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 Sta ...

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 personnel readiness and manpower allocation for the United States Navy. The CNP serves in an additional duty capacity as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Personnel, Manpower, ...

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 Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

in 1969. He received his commission 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 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 John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. 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 N ...

, 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 Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

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 and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

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 a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

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 s ...

'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 of Virginia Governor

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

. In accordance with legislation signed by Governor McAuliffe in March 2014, his post was renamed as the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. In October 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), Science and Technology Policy Institute, t ...

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 Military personnel from Virginia Harvard Kennedy School alumni