New Superintendent Takes Command of U.S. Naval Academy

By Jessica Clark, U.S. Naval Academy Public Affairs

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (NNS) -- The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) held a change of command ceremony July 23 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Vice Adm. Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr. relieved Vice Adm. Michael Miller, becoming the 62nd academy superintendent.

Carter, a native of Burrillville, Rhode Island, served as president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, before he was nominated in June as the next superintendent. A career naval aviator, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1981.

Miller, a native of Minot, North Dakota, and 1974 USNA graduate, retired at the ceremony, completing 40 years of active duty naval service.

"Every change of command is a bittersweet event, mixing the achievement of what has been with the promise of what is to come," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, the ceremony's keynote speaker. "Our Navy and our nation face some significant challenges in the coming years and decades, and our ability as a naval service to meet these challenges in a very real and a very central sense begins here at the academy."

Mabus spoke about the advancements the Naval Academy has experienced under Miller's leadership, including the increase in diversity within the Brigade of Midshipmen, improvements in admissions standards, and the development of the cyber security curriculum and founding of the Center for Cyber Security.

"During his four years as superintendent, Mike has put the academy on a 21st Century footing, with a firm sense of what the future needs of the naval services will be," said Mabus.

In his speech, Miller also emphasized the importance of the cyber security curriculum as well as the enhancement of the Naval Academy sports programs, the expansion of the Stockdale Center for ethical leadership, the creation of three new majors - operations research, nuclear engineering and cyber security - and the selflessness of the midshipmen who volunteered 25,000 community service hours in the last year.

"It's a winning brand, one that young people want to join and in turn be challenged to the limits of their endurance," said Miller. "None of this would have been possible without the finest faculty, staff and coaches this school has ever enjoyed.

"I take credit for none of it," he added. "But I'm oh so proud to say I was a witness to the history as it was being written."

Cyber will continue to be a focus, said Carter.

"Our nation is pivoting toward potential adversaries and perilous challenges. Technologies are advancing at a frightening, dramatic pace. Our training, our facilities and our curriculum must evolve rapidly."

Carter also stressed the importance of character development in the training of future leaders.

"Character matters. It is the most important element of ethical leadership. It is needed today more than ever before," said Carter. "Building a strong foundation of character will shape the midshipmen's individual decision making. It will prepare them to become the next great generation of Americans who will persevere where and when America needs them the most."