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Trident Scholar Program
Picture Name

Admiral John M. Richardson, USN

Chief of Naval Operations

Then...

No one can say John had an easy Plebe year. One of his roommates was a Pharmacist and the other  always got sick after he drank. Dana was always thousands of miles away and if it was up to John he would have seen her more than twice a year. Everyone respected John’s candor especially his roommates. John was always able to clear the room of obnoxious pests with a single snide remark. Crew and studies were John’s two devotions while at USNA and his extra effort paid off. John always ate well at school sometimes too well, it’s hard to keep lime sherbet and biscuits down. John eventually earned three stripes and began work on a Trident project, unfortunately he had to move in with a living computer but the extra liberty was more than enough compensation. John’s many close friends at USNA will always remember him and wish him well wherever he may be down under the ocean.

John’s Trident Scholar research was titled, “The Effects of Transverse Stress on Magnetization.”

...& Now

Admiral John Richardson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics.  He holds master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and National Security Strategy from the National War College.

At sea, Richardson served on USS Parche (SSN 683), USS George C. Marshall (SSBN 654) and USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716).  He commanded USS Honolulu (SSN 718) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Richardson also served as commodore of Submarine Development Squadron (DEVRON) 12; commander, Submarine Group 8; commander, Submarine Allied Naval Forces South; deputy commander, U.S. 6th Fleet; chief of staff, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa; commander, Naval Submarine Forces, and director of Naval Reactors.

His staff assignments include duty in the attack submarine division on the Chief of Naval Operations staff; naval aide to the President; prospective commanding officer instructor for Commander, Submarine Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet; assistant deputy director for Regional Operations on the Joint Staff; and director of Strategy and Policy at U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Richardson served on teams that have been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Navy Unit Commendation, and the Navy “E” Ribbon.  He was awarded the Vice Admiral Stockdale Award for his time in command of USS Honolulu.

Richardson began serving as the 31st Chief of Naval Operations September 18, 2015.

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