Flag Officer Assignments

 March 29, 2021

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The acting secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations announced today the following assignments:

Rear Adm. Blake L. Converse will be assigned as deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Converse is currently serving as commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Rear Adm. Frederick W. Kacher will be assigned as assistant deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy, N3/N5B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.  Kacher is currently serving as commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Seven; and commander, Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet, Okinawa, Japan.

Rear Adm. (lower half) James A. Aiken, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Southern Command; and commander, U.S. Fourth Fleet, Jacksonville, Florida.  Aiken is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Three, Bremerton, Washington.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph D. Noble Jr., selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, logistics operations, Defense Logistics Agency; and commander, Joint Regional Combat Support, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  Noble is currently serving as commander, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapons Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Dean A. VanderLey, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific; and director, Fleet Civil Engineer, U.S. Pacific Fleet, with additional duties as fleet civil engineer, N46, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  VanderLey is currently serving as commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic with additional duties as fleet civil engineer (N01CE), U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Peter G. Vasely, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, special operations, Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan, U.S. Special Operations Command, Kabul, Afghanistan.  Vasely is currently serving as director for operations, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Stephen D. Barnett will be assigned as commander, Navy Region Southwest, San Diego, California.  Barnett is currently serving as commander, Navy Region Northwest, Silverdale, Washington.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael A. Brookes will be assigned as director, J2, U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida.  Brookes is currently serving as director of intelligence, J2, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Timothy J. Kott will be assigned as commander, Navy Region Hawaii; and commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Kott is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group One, San Diego, California. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Carl A. Lahti will be assigned as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan; and commander, Navy Region Japan, Yokosuka, Japan.  Lahti is currently serving as commandant, Naval District Washington, Washington, D.C. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Matthew N. Ott III will be assigned deputy chief of staff for Fleet Ordnance and Supply; and fleet supply officer, N41, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.  Ott is currently serving as executive director, operational contract support, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Milton J. Sands will be assigned as commander, Special Operations Command Africa, U.S. Special Operations Command, Stuttgart, Germany.  Sands is currently serving as commander, Naval Service Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.

Capt. Christopher D. Alexander, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center, San Diego, California.  Alexander is currently serving as commanding officer, Surface Warfare Officer School Command, Newport, Rhode Island.

Capt. Sean R. Bailey, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command; and deputy commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet, Manama, Bahrain.  Bailey is currently serving as chief of staff, Naval Air Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia.

Capt. Thomas R. Buchanan, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy director for plans and policy, DJ5, U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Florida.  Buchanan is currently serving as commandant of midshipman, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.

Capt. Christopher J. Cavanaugh, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director, Maritime Headquarters (N03), U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Cavanaugh is currently serving as director, submarine/nuclear power distribution (PERS-42), Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tennessee.

Capt. Brad J. Collins, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Region Northwest, Silverdale, Washington.  Collins is currently serving as chief of staff, Navy Installations Command, Washington, D.C.

Capt. Jennifer S. Couture, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Service Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.  Couture is currently serving as assistant chief of staff, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia.

Capt. William R. Daly, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy director for policy, plans, strategy, capabilities and resources, J-5/8, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany.  Daly is currently serving as chief of staff, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego, California.

Capt. Ronald A. Foy, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy director for global operations, J-3, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.  Foy is currently serving as deputy commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Capt. Patrick J. Hannifin, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy director for political-military affairs (Asia), J5, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.  Hannifin is currently serving as director, aircraft carrier requirements, N98, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Capt. Oliver T. Lewis, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy director for political-military affairs (Europe, NATO, Russia), J-5, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.  Lewis is currently serving as executive assistant to the chief of naval operations, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Capt. Benjamin R. Nicholson, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command representative, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau; commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Marianas; and commander, Joint Region Marianas, Guam.  Nicholson is currently serving as executive assistant to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.

Capt. Randall W. Peck, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as president, Board of Inspection and Survey, Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Peck is currently serving as commanding officer, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Norfolk, Virginia.

Capt. Ronald J. Piret, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.  Piret is currently serving as chief of staff, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.

Capt. Benjamin G. Reynolds, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director of Maritime Headquarters, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa/Sixth Fleet, Naples, Italy.  Reynolds is currently serving as director, Operations Division, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller; and director, Operations Division, Fiscal Management Division, N821, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Capt. Mark A. Schafer, 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, Busan, Korea.  Schafer is currently serving as deputy, staff operations and plans, Joint Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida.