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Immediate Release

Flag Officer Assignments

The Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert announced today the following assignments:

Rear Adm. Peter A. Gumataotao will be assigned as deputy chief of staff, strategic plans and policy, Supreme Allied Command Transformation, Norfolk, Virginia. Gumataotao is currently serving as commander, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. Frederick J. Roegge will be assigned as commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Roegge is currently serving as director, military personnel plans and policy division, N13, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia.

Rear Adm. Phillip G. Sawyer will be assigned as deputy and chief of staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Sawyer is currently serving as commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Robert P. Burke, selected for the rank of rear admiral, will be assigned as director, military personnel plans and policy division, N13, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia. Burke is currently serving as director, plans and operations, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Sixth Fleet; deputy commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; commander, Submarines, Allied Naval Forces South; and commander, Submarine Group Eight, Naples, Italy.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Christopher W. Grady selected for the rank of rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. Grady is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group One, North Island, California.

Rear Adm. (lower half) DeWolfe H. Miller, selected for the rank of rear admiral, will be assigned as deputy director, chief of naval operations for warfare systems, N9B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia. Miller is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Two, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Charles A. Richard, selected for the rank of rear admiral, will be assigned as director, undersea warfare division, N97, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia. Richard is currently serving as commander, Submarine Group Ten, Kings Bay, Georgia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Daryl L. Caudle will be assigned as director, plans and operations, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Sixth Fleet; deputy commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; commander, Submarines, Allied Naval Forces South; and commander, Submarine Group Eight, Naples, Italy. Caudle is currently serving as deputy commander, Joint Functional Component Command, Global Strike, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Randy B. Crites will be assigned as commander, Submarine Group Ten, Kings Bay, Georgia. Crites is currently serving as director, Maritime Headquarters (N03), U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Lisa M. Franchetti will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine, San Diego, California. Franchetti is currently serving as commander, Navy Region Korea; commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea; and commander, Naval Component, U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command, Seoul, Korea.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Marcus A. Hitchcock will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Three, Naval Base Kitsap, Washington. Hitchcock is currently serving as director, Fleet and Joint Training, N7, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Roy J. Kelley will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Twelve, Norfolk, Virginia. Kelley is currently serving as chief of naval air training, Corpus Christi, Texas.

Rear Adm. (lower half) James T. Loeblein will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group One, North Island, California. Loeblein is currently serving as deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; and deputy commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet, Manama, Bahrain.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Brian E. Luther will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Two, Norfolk, Virginia. Luther is currently serving as director, operations and plans, N31, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) John B. Nowell Jr., will be assigned as commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Seven; and commander, Amphibious Force, U.S. Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan. Nowell is currently serving as deputy chief of staff for strategy, resources, and plans, N5/N8, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Naval Forces Africa, and Sixth Fleet, Naples, Italy.

Capt. Eugene H. Black III, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; and deputy commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet, Manama, Bahrain. Black is currently serving as director, surface warfare officer distribution and career management division, PERS 41, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tennessee.

Capt. Dell D. Bull, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as chief of naval air training, Corpus Christi, Texas. Bull is currently serving as chief of staff, Naval Air Force Pacific, San Diego, California.

Capt. William D. Byrne Jr., selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Region Korea; commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea; and commander, Naval Component, U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command, Korea. Byrne is currently serving as commandant, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

Capt. Gregory J. Fenton, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director, operations and plans, N31, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia. Fenton is currently serving as chief of staff, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Yokosuka, Japan.

Capt. John V. Fuller, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Region Hawaii; and commander, Naval Surface Group, Middle Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Fuller is currently serving as deputy, littoral combat ships, N96, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia.

Capt. Michael P. Holland, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director, maritime headquarters, N03, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Holland is currently serving as director, operations division, Office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller (FMB-1), Washington, District of Columbia.

Capt. Jeffrey W. Hughes, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Recruiting Command, Millington, Tennessee. Hughes is currently serving as executive assistant, N98, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia.

Capt. Stephen T. Koehler, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director, fleet and joint training, N7, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Koehler is currently serving as commanding officer, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Norfolk, Virginia.

Capt. Yancy B. Lindsey, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commandant, Naval District Washington, Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia. Lindsey is currently serving as executive assistant to the assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, Washington, District of Columbia.

Capt. Cathal S. O'Connor, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy chief of staff for strategy, resources and plans, N5/N8, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Naval Forces Africa, and Sixth Fleet, Naples, Italy. O'Connor is currently serving as deputy director, operations and plans division, N31, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, District of Columbia.

Capt. Hugh W. Howard III, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director of operations and military deputy, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia. Howard is currently serving as assistant deputy director for global operations, Joint Staff, Washington, District of Columbia.