Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (USN, Ret)

Admiral Harold (Hal) W. Gehman Jr. (USN, Ret) is on the Board of Advisors at the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security. [1]

Admiral Gehman "completed over 35 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy in October 2000. His last assignment was as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic and as the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, one of the United States' five geographic Unified Commands.

"Gehman was born in Norfolk, Va. on 15 October 1942 and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Industrial Engineering and a commission in the Navy from the NROTC program. A Surface Warfare Officer, he served at all levels of leadership and command in guided missile destroyers and cruisers. During the course of his career, Gehman had an unusual five sea commands in ranks from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral.

"Admiral Gehman served in Vietnam as Officer in Charge of a Swift patrol boat and later in Chu Lai as Officer in Charge of a detachment of six Swifts. His staff assignments were both afloat on a Carrier Battle Group staff and ashore on a fleet commander's staff, a Unified Commander's staff and in Washington DC on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (four tours).

"Promoted to four-star Admiral in 1996, he became the 29th Vice Chief of Naval Operations in September 1996. As VCNO he was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, formulated the Navy's $70B budget and developed and implemented policies governing the 375,000 people in the Navy.

"Assigned in September 1997 as SACLANT and CINC US Joint Forces Command he became one of NATO's two military commanders and assumed command of all forces of all four services in the continental U.S. and became responsible for the provision of ready forces to the other Unified CinCs and for the development of new joint doctrine, training and requirements."