- Vern Clark
Infobox Military Person
name=Vernon E. Clark
born=
died=
placeofbirth=Sioux City, Iowa
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
caption=27th Chief of Naval Operations (2000-2005)
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Navy
serviceyears= 1968-2005
rank=Admiral
commands=Chief of Naval Operations
unit=
battles=
awards=Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3)Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2)Legion of Merit (3)
relations=
laterwork=Raytheon , Board of DirectorsSRI International , Board of DirectorsAdmiral Vernon E. Clark USN (Ret.) was the
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in theUnited States Navy . He retired22 July 2005 , making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behindArleigh Burke . He currently sits on the board of directors ofRaytheon andSRI International .Biography
Born in
Sioux City, Iowa , and raised in the midwestern states ofNebraska ,Missouri andIllinois , Admiral Clark graduated fromEvangel College and earned a Master's Degree of Business Administration (MBA) from theUniversity of Arkansas . He attended Officer Candidate School and received his commission in August 1968.Admiral Clark served aboard the destroyers USS "John W. Weeks" (DD 701) and USS "Gearing" (DD 710). As a Lieutenant, he commanded USS "Grand Rapids" (PG 98). He subsequently commanded USS "McCloy" (FF 1038), USS "Spruance" (DD 963), the Atlantic Fleet's Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center, Destroyer Squadron Seventeen, and Destroyer Squadron Five. After being selected for flag rank, Admiral Clark commanded "Carl Vinson" Battle Group/Cruiser Destroyer Group Three, Second Fleet, and United States Atlantic Fleet.
Ashore, Admiral Clark first served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Systems Analysis Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He later completed assignments as the Administrative Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare) and as the Administrative Aide to the
Vice Chief of Naval Operations . He served as Head of the Cruiser-Destroyer Combat Systems Requirements Section and Force Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer for the Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and he directed the Joint Staff's Crisis Action Team for Operation Desert Shield andOperation Desert Storm .Admiral Clark's first flag assignment was at the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) where he was Director of Plans and Policy (J5) and Financial Management and Analysis (J8). While commanding the "Carl Vinson" Battle Group, he deployed to the
Persian Gulf and later served as the Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia. Admiral Clark has also served as the Deputy and Chief of Staff, United States Atlantic Fleet; the Director of Operations (J3) and subsequently Director, of the Joint Staff.Admiral Clark became the 27th Chief of Naval Operations on
July 21 ,2000 , relieving AdmiralJay L. Johnson . In 2001, Clark was considered to be on the "short list" of choices forChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ; the eventual pick was Air Force GenRichard Myers [cite web|url=http://www-tech.mit.edu/V121/N32/defense_6.32w.html
title=Air Force General Myers to Become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
author=Mike Allen
work=Washington Post
date=August 23 ,2001
accessdate= ]A devout Christian, Admiral Clark currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Leadership at
Regent University inVirginia Beach, Virginia .Awards and decorations
Admiral Clark's personal decorations include the
Defense Distinguished Service Medal (three awards), theNavy Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), theLegion of Merit (three awards), theDefense Meritorious Service Medal , the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), theNavy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal , and various service and campaign awards, including theJoint Meritorious Unit Award (two awards),Navy Unit Commendation ,Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ,Battle Efficiency Award (two awards),National Defense Service Medal (three awards),Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ,Vietnam Service Medal (two campaigns),Southwest Asia Service Medal (one campaign),Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (six awards), andNavy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon .Since his retirement, Clark has been honored with the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives of North America and the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States.
Clark was elected to the board of directors of
Raytheon in December 2005 and the board of directors ofSRI International in March 2007. [ [http://www.sri.com/news/releases/032607.html]Notes
References
:"This article incorporates text in the
public domain from the U.S. Department of Defense."
*cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/clark_bio.html
title=Biography — Vern Clark
date=March 2 ,2005
publisher=Department of Defense
accessdate=2006-11-19*cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/clark/clark-index.html
title=Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern Clark, USN
publisher=United States Navy
accessdate=2006-11-19
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
