Greenert is retiring
WASHINGTON D.C. — Butler native Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, is retiring after 40 years of military service.
Greenert will likely be replaced this September by Adm. John Richardson.
In a news briefing Wednesday at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that he has recommended Richardson as the next chief, according to a news release from the Navy.
The chief of naval operations is the principal naval adviser to the president and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
At the briefing, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus praised Greenert’s service and leadership for the past four years.
“Jon Greenert should be incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the U.S. Navy under his leadership,” Mabus said.
“Our Navy is better able to respond to the myriad of challenges around the world because of his stewardship in deploying the greatest fighting fleet the world has ever known.”
Carter said that Greenert has been a tremendous leader over these past four years — “four years that have been critical for our military, and for the country — marked by an ever-changing security environment and persistent budget turbulence ...
“We’ll have plenty of time in the months ahead for the proper tributes and farewells, but for now, let me just say that President Obama, (U.S. Army General Martin) Dempsey, (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), and I could not have been better served,” Carter said.
Greenert was appointed to that position on Sept. 23, 2011.
After graduating from Butler High School in 1971, Greenert graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975, completing studies in nuclear power for service as a submarine officer.
He served in the Navy’s Atlantic fleet, commanded the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Pacific and was head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.
A career submarine officer, Richardson is director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
