Jeremy Michael Boorda

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Jeremy M. Boorda
November 26, 1939(1939-11-26) – May 16, 1996 (aged 56)
Jeremy M. Boorda
Place of birth	South Bend, Indiana
Place of death	Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1956-1996 (40 Years)
Rank	4 Star Admiral
Commands held	USS Parrot (MSC-197) USS Farragut (DDG-37) Carrier Battle Group Commander embarked in USS Saratoga (CV-60) Commander, Battle Force Sixth Fleet Chief of Naval Personnel Allied Forces Southern Europe U.S. Naval Forces, Europe Chief of Naval Operations
Battles/wars	Vietnam War War in Yugoslavia Bosnian War
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3) Legion of Merit (3) Meritorious Service Medal (2)

Jeremy Michael Boorda (November 26, 1939 – May 16, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy and the 25th Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Boorda is celebrated for being the only CNO to have risen to the position from the enlisted ranks.

1 Navy career
2 Seaman to Admiral
3 C4I
4 Enlisted Advancement System
5 Littoral Oceanography
6 Suicide
7 Lineage
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Navy career

Boorda, born in South Bend, Indiana, enlisted in the United States Navy in 1956 and attained the rank of Personnelman Petty Officer First Class. Boorda served a variety of commands, primarily in aviation. His last two enlisted assignments were in Attack Squadron 144 and Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 11. He was selected for commissioning under the Integration Program in 1962.

Following Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and commissioning in August 1962, Boorda served aboard USS Porterfield (DD-682) as Combat Information Center Officer. He attended Naval Destroyer School in Newport and in 1964 was assigned as Weapons Officer, USS John R. Craig (DD-885). His next tour was as Commanding Officer, USS Parrot (MSC-197).

Boorda's first shore tour was as a weapons instructor at Naval Destroyer School in Newport. In 1971, after attending the U.S. Naval War College and also earning a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Rhode Island, he assumed duties as Executive Officer, USS Brooke (DEG-1).

That tour was followed by a short period at the University of Oklahoma and an assignment as Head, Surface Lieutenant Commander Assignments/Assistant for Captain Detailing in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

From 1975 to 1977, Boorda commanded USS Farragut (DDG-37). He was next assigned as Executive Assistant to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Washington, DC. He relieved the civilian presidential appointee in that position, remaining until 1981 when he took command of Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two.

In 1983 and 1984, he served as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Naval Personnel/Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel and Training. In December 1984, he assumed his first flag officer assignment as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, remaining until July 1986.

His next assignment was Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight in Norfolk, Virginia; he served as a Carrier Battle Group Commander embarked in USS Saratoga (CV-60), and also as Commander, Battle Force Sixth Fleet in 1987.

In August 1988, Boorda became Chief of Naval Personnel/Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel and Training. In November 1991, he received his fourth star and in December 1991, became Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH - Naples, Italy) and Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR - London). As CINCSOUTH, Admiral Boorda was in command of all NATO forces engaged in operations enforcing United Nations sanctions during Yugoslav wars.

On February 1, 1993, while serving as Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Europe, Boorda assumed the additional duty as Commander, Joint Task Force Provide Promise, responsible for the supply of humanitarian relief to Bosnia-Herzegovina via air-land and air-drop missions, and for troops contributing to the UN mission throughout the Balkans.

On April 23, 1994, Boorda became the 25th Chief of Naval Operations. He was the first CNO who wasn't a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.

Boorda's military awards included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal (three awards), the Legion of Merit (three awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medal and a Navy Commendation Medal as well as a number of other personal and campaign awards.

[edit] Seaman to Admiral

Boorda was a product of an enlisted-to-officer commissioning program in the early 1960s. This program known as the Integration Program was designed to provide an opportunity for enlisted personnel who possessed outstanding qualifications and motivation for a naval career to obtain a commission. Admiral Boorda was the first CNO to have risen from the enlisted ranks. Upon assuming the duties of CNO, Boorda immediately reestablished the historic program, naming it "Seaman to Admiral", as part of an STA-21 initiative for young Sailors to earn their commission and become naval officers. The admiral believed "people should have the opportunity to excel, and be all they can be, even if they don't get a perfect or traditional start."^[1]

[edit] C4I

Boorda was particularly interested in C4I initiatives to place command and control, communications, computers and intelligence assets on naval ships. Essentially this manifested itself as more robust combat information systems, with improved satellite and communication links, as well as place more defensive assets on traditionally non-combatant ships such as support vessels. Boorda initiated efforts during the proposal phase for the future LPD-17 amphibious class to be fitted with first-class C4I suites, radars, communications, and defense systems-anti-torpedo, anti-missile, and anti-NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) -along with blast-hardened bulkheads that will absorb and dissipate much more punishment than is possible with present designs. This effort was a departure from past effort which relied on simply assigning a destroyer or cruiser to provide these functions for the amphibious forces. ^[2] The ship was commissioned Jan 14, 2006, nine years after Boorda's death.

[edit] Enlisted Advancement System

Boorda also spearheaded efforts to change the US Navy's advancement system. The new system was more systematic and consistent. The system also allowed a rating of the sailor's advancement potential. This rating allowed a command to mark only 20% of sailors as "early promotes", and set strict grading criteria for each evaluatory mark. The new system also linked each promotion marking to the advancement system. ^[3]

[edit] Littoral Oceanography

Boorda signed a policy for naval oceanography (the first such revision in 10 years), which emphasized, among other things, that, in addition to deep-water missions, naval oceanographers must master the complicated tangle of the oceanographic/geographic subject areas that make up the science of the littorals, or near-shore areas: tidal pulses, beach profiles, reefs, bars, shallows, shoals, channels, sediment transport, fine-scale hydrography, turbidity, land cover and terrain, dust, traffic, rain rates, river runoff, sub-bottom characteristics, and biologics, as well as the complex weather patterns characteristic of any coastal area. Boorda's vision brought the Navy's new focus on littoral operations into alignment with naval projection policies. But this new program also created a large backlog of high priority oceanographic, hydrographic, and geophysical survey requirements. To meet those requirements the Navy expanded its oceanographic efforts from traditional platforms (ships, boats, planes) to new technologies (satellites, remote sensors, etc.), and efforts to work with other national and international agencies. ^[4]

[edit] Suicide

Boorda died 16 May 1996 of an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. The autopsy results have never been released to the public. He reportedly also left two suicide notes, neither of which has been released publicly. He was reported to have been despondent over a news media investigation, led by David H. Hackworth, into Valor device enhancements he wore on his Navy Achievement Medal and a Navy Commendation Medal (small brass Vs, signifying valor in combat), which the media report claimed he was not entitled to wear. Former CNO Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who was Boorda's commander in Vietnam, later indicated that Boorda was authorized to wear them.^[5] In 1998, one of Admiral Boorda's sons requested a review of the Admiral's service record. The Board for Correction of Naval Records, the ultimate arbiter of whether Boorda was entitled to wear the Combat V on both Medals, determined that he was not.^[6]

Boorda also faced unrelenting hostility from a majority of Naval Flag Officers who believed that Boorda had betrayed the Navy by allying himself with Clinton administration demands for reform in the wake of the Tailhook scandal. Aviators in particular were incensed ^[7] by the treatment of Admiral Stan Arthur, whose nomination for the post of Commander in Chief, Pacific, was withdrawn by Boorda at the behest of a single Senator after questions were raised over mishandling of a separate sexual harassment case.^[8]

Boorda was survived by the former Bettie Moran, four children and 11 grandchildren; two sons and one daughter-in-law are naval officers. One grandson is a GM3 in the Coast Guard, another is an Army officer, and another is a Marine Corps officer.

[edit] Lineage

Boorda has three grandsons who served in the U.S. military: Peter Boorda is a Petty Officer in the United States Coast Guard, Andrew Boorda is an Armor Officer in the United States Army, and Phillip Boorda is an Amphibious Assault Vehicle Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Andrew and Phillip are twins, and like their grandfather, both graduated from the University of Rhode Island.