George E. Mayer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George E. Mayer
Born 1950 (age 57–58)
Rear Admiral George E. Mayer
Place of birth	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1974-present
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	Naval Safety Center
Battles/wars	Operation Enduring Freedom
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars Bronze Star Meritorious Service Medal with a Gold Star

Rear Admiral George E. "Rico" Mayer (born c. 1950) is a United States Naval officer who is the Commander of the Naval Safety Center. On June 3, 2003, Mayer commanded the Carrier Group Eight from his flagship USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) during the 31st annual maritime exercise Baltic operations (BALTOPS). It was the first time in BALTOPS history that included combined ground troops from Russia, Poland, Denmark and the United States.

1 Early years
2 United States Naval Academy
3 Naval career
4 BALTOPS 2003
5 Other Commands
6 Recognition
7 Military decorations and awards
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Early years

Mayer was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the island's capital. There he received his primary and secondary education. In the 1960s, during his teengage years, he was unsure of what type of work he would like to do as an adult. This changed as he visited his father who worked in the local airport. Mayer became fascinated with aviation and decided that he would like to become an aviator. His father recommended that he join the Navy and become an aviator.^[1]

[edit] United States Naval Academy

Mayer was accepted to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated from the Academy in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. Upon his graduation, he pursued additional academic instruction in aerodynamic principles and flight tactics at the Navy's flight training school at Naval Air Station in Meridian, Mississippi, earning his pilot's wings in 1976.

As an aviator, he was first qualified in the A-7 Corsair II aircraft and later qualified in the F-18 Hornet, the United States first strike-fighter.

[edit] Naval career

A7 Corsair - type of aircraft Mayer flew

Mayer served in the following shore duty assignments: Executive Assistant to the Chief of Legislative Affairs and as the Light Attack/Strike Fighter Junior Officer Detailer in Washington, D.C.; Deputy Director of Operations, United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida; Spanish Command and Staff College in Madrid, Spain. He also attended the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where he obtained a Master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He was serving as Deputy Director of Operations, J3, at the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base when on February 15, 2002 Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that President George W. Bush had promoted him to the grade of rear admiral (Upper half).^[2]

Mayer flew the A-7 Corsairs with the “Dambusters” of VA-195 (Strike Fighter Squadron-195), the VFA-25 “Fist of the Fleet”, the "Flying Eagles" of VMFA-122 as an instructor pilot and the “Gunslingers” of VA-105 as a department head in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, striking targets deep in Afghanistan. He was later assigned to the F/A-18 Hornet for his command tour with the “Rampagers” of VFA-83.^[3] His other command tours included the VFA-106, the East Coast F/A-18 fleet replacement squadron, Carrier Air Wing Seven, and Carrier Group Eight.

[edit] BALTOPS 2003

USS Vella Gulf (CG-72)

Mayer, Commanded the Carrier Group Eight, whose base of operations is located in Norfolk, Virginia, in an international naval exercise known as Baltic operations (BALTOPS) 2003 from his flagship USS Vella Gulf (CG-72). Thirteen nations participated in the exercise, which included more than 3,600 personnel, 36 ships, 3 submarines, over 40 aircraft, and 6 different ground forces from Allied and Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations which included Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

For the first time in the history of the exercise, BALTOPS 03 included ground force elements that trained in interoperability exercises, which included a combined Russian, Polish, Danish and American amphibious landings in Poland and an evacuation of role-playing non-combatants by both sea and air from Bornholm, Denmark.^[4]

[edit] Other Commands

On April 23, 2004, Mayer was named as the Commander Navy Region South/Chief of Naval Air Training at Corpus Christi, Texas.

In August 2005, Mayer was assigned as commander, Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Virginia. As commander, he is his responsibility that the center complies with its mission which is providing safety, assistance and advice to the CNO, CMC, and the Deputy Assistant SECNAV for Safety in order to enhance the war fighting capability of the Navy and Marine Corps, preserve resources and improve combat readiness by preventing mishaps and saving lives.

Mayer is an advocate of Hispanic recruitment and active participation in the Armed Forces and has been quoted as saying:

"One of the biggest strengths of the Hispanic community is its ability to produce leaders in all facets of society and industry"^[5]

Rear Adm. Mayer has accumulated over 4,000 flight hours and has logged more than 1,000 carrier-arrested landings.

[edit] Recognition

On October 7, 2005 Mayer was recognized as one of the nation's best and brightest engineers and scientists during the 17th Annual Hispanic Engineers National Achievement Awards Conference held in Anaheim, California.^[6]