Old salt

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A Battered "Old Salt" Old Salt.jpg
A Battered "Old Salt"

An "old salt" is an old sailor or mariner who tells oral history and sea stories. Sometimes deemed a sage within their domain, and while sometimes a raconteur, much of the history and traditions of mariners are passed from generation to generation as told and retold by old salts. Their factual oral histories and fictional sea stories often intermingle and thus may overall be truthful, half-true, or fiction. Each narrative told by an old salt tends to have the aim of enhancing the reputation of the old salt, the old salt's companions, or the old salt's forebears, although they may also tell instructive tales of tragedy. [1] [2]

Contents

United States military title

Quartermaster Dick Libby, USN, an Old Salt: "Twenty years in the Navy. "Never drunk on duty - never sober on liberty." Portrait painted circa 1834 by Charles O. Cole Dick Libby.jpg
Quartermaster Dick Libby, USN, an Old Salt: "Twenty years in the Navy. "Never drunk on duty - never sober on liberty." Portrait painted circa 1834 by Charles O. Cole

In the United States Navy, the "Old Salt" is a title passed to the longest-serving Surface Warfare Officer on active duty. [4] The award, currently held by Admiral Christopher W. Grady, honors the officer with the earliest standing SWO qualification. [5]

List of titleholders

No.PortraitNameTenure as titleholderPositions heldRef
Date receivedDate relinquishedTime as titleholder
1 Admiral (ADM) Lee Baggett Jr., USN (uncovered).jpg Admiral
Lee Baggett Jr.
November 4, 1988December 9, 198835 daysCommander-in-Chief,
United States Atlantic Command (1985-1988)
[6]
2 Lawrence L. Layman (3).jpg Rear Admiral
Lawrence Layman
December 9, 1988February 28, 198981 daysDirector of Space, Command and Control (1986-1989) [6]
3 Vice Adm. Albert J. Herberger.jpg Vice Admiral
Albert J. Herberger
February 28, 1989March 21, 19901 year, 21 daysDeputy Commander-in-Chief,
United States Transportation Command (1987-1990) [7]
[6]
4 Joseph S. Donnell III (2).jpg Vice Admiral
Joseph S. Donnell III
March 21, 1990January 31, 1991316 daysCommander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (????-1991) [6]
5 ADM David E Jeremiah.JPG Admiral
David E. Jeremiah
February 1, 1991February 28, 19943 years, 27 days Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1990-1994) [6]
6 Rear Admiral (lower half) David M. Bennett.jpg Vice Admiral
David M. Bennett
March 1, 1994August 25, 19951 year, 177 days Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (1990-1992)
Naval Inspector General (1992-1995)
[6]
7 Vice Adm. Philip M. Quast.jpg Vice Admiral
Philip M. Quast
August 26, 1995February 14, 19971 year, 172 daysCommander, Military Sealift Command (1995-1997) [8] [6]
8 George F.A. Wagner (2).jpg Rear Admiral
George F.A. Wagner
February 15, 1997April 30, 19981 year, 74 daysCommander,
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (1995-1998)
[6]
9 George A. Huchting (6).jpg Rear Admiral
George A. Huchting
May 1, 1998January 14, 1999258 daysProgram Executive Officer for Surface Combatants (1991-1998) [6]
10 Dennis R. Conley (5).jpg Rear Admiral
Dennis R. Conley
January 14, 1999March 31, 199976 daysCommander, Mine Warfare Command (1996-1999) [6]
11 James B. Ferguson (2).jpg Rear Admiral
James B. Ferguson III
April 1, 1999June 1, 199961 daysCommander, Western Hemisphere Group (????-1999) [6]
12 Vice Adm. James F. Amerault.jpg Vice Admiral
James F. Amerault
June 2, 1999July 24, 20012 years, 52 daysDeputy Chief of Naval Operations
(Fleet Readiness and Logistics) (1998-2001) [9]
[6]
13 Rodney Rempt.jpg Vice Admiral
Rodney P. Rempt
July 25, 2001May 21, 20075 years, 300 days President of the Naval War College (2001-2003)
Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy (2003-2007)
[6]
14 Michael Mullen, CJCS, official photo portrait, 2007.jpg Admiral
Michael Mullen
May 22, 2007December 16, 20114 years, 208 days Chief of Naval Operations (2005-2007)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2007-2011)
[6]
15 ADM John C Harvey Jr.jpg Admiral
John C. Harvey Jr.
December 16, 2011September 14, 2012273 days Commander,
United States Fleet Forces Command (2009-2012)
[10]
16 John Terence Blake, United States Navy Vice Admiral, official photo.jpg Vice Admiral
John Terence Blake
September 14, 2012December 17, 201294 daysDeputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration
of Capabilities and Resources (2012) [11]
[12]
17 Vice Admiral Michael A. Lefever (2).jpg Vice Admiral
Michael A. Lefever
December 17, 2012May 7, 20141 year, 141 daysDirector, Strategic Operational Planning,
National Counterterrorism Center (2011-2014)
[12]
18 Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III 2012.jpg Admiral
Samuel J. Locklear
May 7, 2014June 22, 20151 year, 46 days Commander,
United States Pacific Command (2012-2015)
[12]
19 ADM Kurt W. Tidd.jpg Admiral
Kurt W. Tidd
June 22, 2015October 22, 20183 years, 122 daysAssistant to the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2013-2016) [13]
Commander,
United States Southern Command (2016-2018)
[14]
20 Davidson PACOM.jpg Admiral
Philip S. Davidson
October 22, 2018April 30, 20212 years, 190 days Commander,
United States Indo-Pacific Command (2018-2021)
[15]
21 ADM Christopher W. Grady (2).jpg Admiral
Christopher W. Grady
April 30, 2021Incumbent2 years, 84 days Commander,
United States Fleet Forces Command (2018-2021)
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2021–present)
[5]

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References

  1. Ward, Lorraine Ann (2014). "The archetype of the old salt: A hermeneutic study of western civilization's relationship with nature". Pacifica Graduate Institute, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
  2. "OLD SALT (Noun) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary".
  3. "Photo # KN-582 picture data". www.history.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 2000-09-19.
  4. Rafael, Martie. "Navy Passes "Old Salt" Award". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 Macchietto, Brooke (May 1, 2021). "FLEET FORCES COMMANDER BECOMES NAVY'S 'OLD SALT'". U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Haun, Eric (June 30, 2015). "'Old Salt' Designation Passed to Vice Adm. Tidd". Maritime Professional.
  7. "VADM ALBERT J. HERBERGER '55, USN (RET.)" . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. "Naval Postgraduate School Graduation Exercises / Class of March 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  9. "[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9][Senate][Pages 12486-12487]" . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. John C. Harvey Jr. (September 14, 2012). "The Fundamentals of Surface Warfare: Sailors and Ships".
  11. "VADM John Terence Blake USN (Ret)" . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 "Locklear Named Surface Navy Association's "Old Salt"". 12 May 2014.
  13. "Kurt Tidd - Linkedin" . Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  14. Haun, Eric (30 June 2015). "'Old Salt' Designation Passed to Vice Adm. Tidd".
  15. "Davidson is Navy's Newest 'Old Salt'". Seapower News. October 23, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.