Joseph Kernan | |
---|---|
5th Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence | |
In office December 1, 2017 –November 10, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Marcel Lettre |
Succeeded by | Ezra Cohen (Acting) |
Deputy Commander of United States Southern Command | |
In office May 2011 –September 2013 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Commander | Douglas M. Fraser John F. Kelly |
Personal details | |
Born | Joseph Deveraux Kernan February 4,1955 Travis Air Force Base,California,U.S. |
Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1977–2013 |
Rank | Vice Admiral |
Commands | United States Fourth Fleet United States Naval Forces Southern Command Naval Special Warfare Command Naval Special Warfare Development Group SEAL Team 2 |
Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2) Defense Superior Service Medal (3) Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star (3) |
Joseph Devereux Kernan [1] (born February 4,1955) is a retired United States Navy vice admiral and the former under secretary of defense for intelligence. His last military assignment was serving as the military deputy commander of the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM),Miami,Florida,from May 23,2011,to September 2013. [2] He was the second-in-command of one of nine unified commands under the Department of Defense.
Kernan formerly served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense from August 2009 to May 2011. Prior to that,he served as Commander,United States Fourth Fleet and United States Naval Forces Southern Command from July 1,2008,to June 12,2009,and as Commander,Naval Special Warfare Command from June 2007 to June 30,2008. He assumed his final assignment on May 23,2011.
Kernan was nominated as the fifth USD(I) on July 17,2017,was confirmed by the Senate on November 17,2017,and served until November 10,2020,when Ezra Cohen replaced him as acting Undersecretary for Intelligence. [3] [4] [5]
Joseph Devereux Kernan was born February 4,1955,at Travis Air Force Base,California,the son of a career Air Force pilot and Air Force nurse.[ citation needed ]
Kernan graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1977 and received a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy. He attended Surface Warfare Officer School and reported to USS Horne (CG-30) based in San Diego,California. During his first tour,Kernan served as an Engineering Officer,completed deployments to the Western Pacific and Middle East regions and was designated a Surface Warfare Officer. Upon completion of his initial tour with the Surface Warfare community,Kernan received orders to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. After six months of training,Kernan graduated with BUD/S class 117 in May 1982. Following SEAL Basic Indoctrination and completion of a six month probationary period,he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer,entitled to wear the SEAL Trident. He commanded Platoons at Underwater Demolition Team 12,later redesigned as SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1,and SEAL Team FIVE. Additionally while assigned to SEAL Team 5,he served as Detachment Officer-in-Charge of four deployed SEAL platoons and Deputy Commander,Naval Special Warfare Task Force,Middle East Force. He later served as executive officer,Naval Special Warfare Unit 1 (NSWU1) at Naval Station Subic Bay,Republic of the Philippines. His staff positions included the Naval Special Warfare Officer Detailer,operations officer,SEAL Team THREE,Chief of Staff and Deputy commander at Naval Special Warfare Command and Director,of Naval Special Warfare Branch on the Navy Staff. [6] He later earned an M.S. in resource management from National Defense University in 1997.
Kernan served as commanding officer of SEAL Team TWO from 1994 to 1996. As a Captain,he served as commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare Development Group from June 1999 to Aug 2003. His joint assignments include Deputy Director and Director of Operations,Joint Special Operations Command,Fort Bragg,North Carolina,and Director of Operations,Center for Special Operations,United States Special Operations Command,MacDill AFB,Tampa,Florida.
Kernan assumed duties as Commander,Naval Special Warfare Command in June 2007. [7]
On April 24,2008,Admiral Gary Roughead,the Chief of Naval Operations,announced that the United States Fourth Fleet would be re-established,effective July 1,with responsibility for United States Navy ships,aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean Sea,as well as throughout Central and South America,with Kernan as the fleet commander,as well as Commander,United States Naval Forces Southern Command,the naval component of the United States Southern Command. Kernan became the first Navy SEAL to serve as a numbered fleet commander. [8]
On May 19,2009,Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that President Barack Obama had selected Kernan for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. [9] He assumed the assignment in June 2009. In May 2011,he was assigned as deputy commander United States Southern Command until his retirement in September 2013.
After his military retirement,Kernan served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for SAP National Security Services. [10]
On July 17,2017,President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Kernan to the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. [3] His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on November 16,2017. [4] On November 10,2020,Kernan retired from government service. [11] Ezra Cohen replaced him as the acting Undersecretary for Intelligence. [5]
Kernan also serves as the chairman of NS2 Serves,a "veteran training and employment program," as well as on the board of directors for both the National Navy SEAL Museum and The Mission Continues,a nonprofit founded by former Missouri governor and former SEAL,Eric Greitens. [12]
In September 2017,Joe returned to SAP NS2 where he now works as Chief Security Officer. He and his wife Jan also run a well-known vineyard in Leesburg,Virginia called Bleufrog Vineyards.
Kernan and his wife,Janet,have two children:Sean and Shannon. [13]
Naval Special Warfare insignia
Surface Warfare Officer insignia
Naval Parachutist Badge
Edmund Peter Giambastiani Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the seventh vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007. He retired in 2007, after 37 years of service.
Joseph Maguire is an American officer who served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Acting Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump. He retired from the United States Navy as a vice admiral in 2010 after 36 years of military service. Prior to retiring from active duty, he was the deputy director for strategic operational planning at National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
Albert Melrose Calland III was a vice admiral in the United States Navy who was the deputy director for Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center and commander of Naval Special Warfare Command from 2002 to 2004. He also previously served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from July 2005 to July 2006 and commanded the Naval Special Warfare Development Group from 1997 to 1999.
The structure of the United States Navy consists of four main bodies: the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the operating forces, and the Shore Establishment.
Mark Howard Buzby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who served as the Administrator of the United States Maritime Administration. He retired from the Navy in 2013 and joined Carnival Cruise Line's Safety & Reliability Review Board. Buzby was nominated to be MARAD Administrator in June 2017 by President Donald Trump, and confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on August 3, 2017. He resigned from the post on January 11, 2021, along with Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, to protest the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
Eric Thor Olson is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the eighth Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 2, 2007 to August 8, 2011. He previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command from 2003 to July 2007. Olson was the first Navy SEAL ever to be appointed to three-star and four-star flag rank, as well as the first naval officer to be USSOCOM's combatant commander. He took command from Army General Bryan D. Brown in 2007. Brown and Olson had served together at the SOCOM headquarters in Tampa for four years. He retired from active duty on August 22, 2011 after over 38 years of service. He relinquished command of SOCOM to Admiral William H. McRaven the same day.
Deborah A. Loewer is a retired American naval officer. She was the first warfare-qualified woman promoted to flag rank in the United States Navy. She was frocked to the rank of rear admiral on October 1, 2003 and retired in 2007.
Thomas L. Brown II was a retired United States Navy officer and the first Navy officer to command Special Operations Command South, based in Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base, Florida.
Brian Lee Losey is a retired rear admiral of the United States Navy. He headed the Naval Special Warfare Command from 2013 until his retirement in 2016. Losey is a native of Tacoma, Washington.
Cecil Eugene Diggs Haney is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as Commander, United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) from November 15, 2013 to November 3, 2016. Prior to STRATCOM, he served as Commander, United States Pacific Fleet. He received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit.
In the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of flag officer. The equivalent rank is colonel in the United States Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps.
Christopher Watson Grady is a United States Navy admiral who is currently serving as the 12th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since December 20, 2021.
Alexander L. Krongard is a retired United States Navy SEAL. He retired from the United States Navy as a rear admiral in 2016 after 31 years of military service. He served as the Deputy Commander of United States Africa Command and previously commanded Naval Special Warfare Group ONE.
Keith Bently Davids is an American United States Navy special warfare officer with the rank of rear admiral. He has served as the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command since August 19, 2022. He was the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command South, United States Southern Command from 2020 to 2022. Previously, he served as director of the White House Military Office during the Presidency of Donald Trump. Earlier in his career, he was commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center and SEAL Team One.
Frank Dixon Whitworth III is an active duty United States Navy vice admiral and career intelligence officer who serves as the eighth director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency since June 3, 2022. He most recently served as the Director for Intelligence of the Joint Staff.
Colin James Kilrain is a retired United States Navy vice admiral who last served as the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 20, 2021 to February 2023. He previously served as the associate director for military affairs (ADMA) for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2019 to 2021. He is the former commander of Special Operations Command Pacific and Naval Special Warfare Group Two.
Peter Gerard Vasely is a United States Navy rear admiral who serves as deputy director for future joint force development of the Joint Staff since June 3, 2022. He served as a special assistant to the Director of the Navy Staff from November 4, 2021 to June 3, 2022. Before that, he served as the Director of Operations of the Defense Intelligence Agency from November 2019 to 2021 and then as the Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force–Afghanistan and NATO Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan from May 17 to August 31, 2021. Vasely is a Navy SEAL officer and former member of SEAL Team ONE and Development Group.
Frank Mitchell Bradley is a United States Navy vice admiral and commander of Joint Special Operations Command since August 10, 2022. He most recently served as the commander of Special Operations Command Central from July 20, 2020 to July 1, 2022. Prior to that, he served as the assistant commander of Joint Special Operations Command from 2018 to 2020.
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Navy Biography. United States Navy.