Naval History and Heritage Command

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Vice Admiral Emery was appointed 24^th Commander of the Submarine Force US Atlantic Fleet, and Commander Submarine Allied Command Atlantic by President Clinton in August 1993.

Born in Sanford, Maine, on 28 December 1940, Vice Admiral Emery was appointed to the US Naval Academy by Senator Margaret Chase Smith and graduated with distinction with the Class of 1963.  He attended graduate programs at the University of Delaware and George Washington University, and served on five nuclear submarines, commanding USS Groton (SSN 694) and USS Ohio (SSBN 726) (Gold crew).  Vice Admiral Emery surfaced at the North Pole while Engineer Officer aboard USS Hammerhead (SSN 663), and circumnavigated the globe submerged while commanding USS Groton (SSN 694).

Additional assignments included division officer in USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN 619) (Blue crew); instructor and division director at Naval Nuclear Power School, Bainbridge, Maryland; Naval Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, US Atlantic Fleet; Division of Naval Reactors, Department of Energy, Washington, DC; Executive Officer USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685); Chief of Staff to Commander Carrier Group Seven (USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation Battle Groups); Deputy Director, Strike Amphibious Warfare (OP-74); Executive Assistant and Naval Aide to the Undersecretary of the Navy, and subsequently to the Secretary of the Navy.

Following  selection to flag rank, Vice Admiral Emery joined the office of the Chief of Naval Personnel first as Director Total Programming and Manpower Division, and subsequently as Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Military Personnel Policy and Career Progression.  Prior to his appointment to command US and Allied submarine forces in the Atlantic, Vice Admiral Emery commanded West Coast Pacific Fleet attack submarines and facilities as Commander Submarine Group Five.

Retiring from Naval service in July 1996, Vice Admiral Emery joined Raytheon Company as Executive Vice President, then President, of Raytheon Technical Services Company.  In 2000, Vice Admiral Emery and his wife Patricia returned to Maine, settling in Kennebunkport.

The Admiral is the General Chair of the annual Submarine Technology Symposium jointly sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Naval Submarine League, and a member of the Board of Directors of Sauer USA of Stevensville, Maryland and First Support Services Inc. of Dallas, Texas.  He is a Trustee of the USS Constitution Museum and a Director of the Naval Submarine League.  From 2001 to 2006, Admiral Emery served on, and subsequently chaired, the Senior Advisory Group to the Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory.  He was a member of the Secretary of the Navy’s Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History from 1997 to 2006.

Vice Admiral Emery is the Author of Historical Manuscripts in the Navy Department Library, Washington, DC:  Naval Historical Center, 1994, which was subsequently expanded into the List of Historical Manuscripts in the Navy Department Library.  He is a contributor to several published works related to the history of the US Navy including America’s Naval Heritage:  A Catalog of Early Imprints From the Navy Department Library, Washington, DC;  Naval Historical Center, 2000; U.S. Navy:  A Complete History, Washington, DC: Naval Historical Foundation, 2003; and Leadership Embodied:  The Secrets to Success of the Most Effective Navy and Marine Corps Leaders, Annapolis, Maryland:  Naval Institute Press, 2005.  In 2006, he completed a finding aid titled The George Henry Preble Collection at the Navy Department Library.

Chronology of Navy Service:

July 1959                     Entered the US Naval Academy as a Midshipman.

June 1963                    Graduated from US Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science.

Jun-Dec 1963                Naval Nuclear Power School Naval Training Center Bainbridge, MA.

Dec 1963-Jul 1964         Nuclear Power Training Unit Windsor, Connecticut.

Jul 1964-Feb 1965         Naval Submarine School Groton, Connecticut.

Feb-Jun 1965                Naval Guided Missiles School Dam Neck Virginia Beach. Virginia.

Jun 1965-Apr 1967         USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN 619) (Blue crew).

Apr 1967-Jul 1969          Naval Nuclear Power School, Bainbridge Maryland. Instructor (Reactors Division Director (Chemistry, Metallurgy & Radiological Controls).

Jul 1969-May 1973          USS Hammerhead (SSN 663) (Engineer Officer).

May 1973-Jul 1975          Member Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board (CINCLANTFLT).

Jul 1975-Jun 1977           USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685) (Executive Officer).

Jun 1977-Jun 1979          Division of Naval Reactors, Department of Energy, Washington, DC Program Assistant, on Admiral Rickover’s staff).

Jun-Jul 1979                    Naval Amphibious School Little Creek, Virginia.

Jul-Sep 1979                    Division of Naval Reactors, Department of Energy, Washington, DC

Oct-Dec 1979                   Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet.

Dec 1979-Dec 1982           USS Groton (SSN 694) (Commanding Officer).

Dec 1982-Mar 1983           Trident Training Facility Bangor, Washington.

Mar 1983-Apr 1983           Nuclear Power Training Unit Balston Spa, New York.

Apr 1983-May 1985           USS Ohio (SSBN 726) (Gold crew Commanding Officer).

May 1985-Aug 1987          Commander Carrier Group Seven (Chief of Staff).

Sep 1987-Jun 1988           Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Deputy Director of Strike and Warfare) (OP-74).

Jun 1988-May 1989         Office of the Under Secretary of the Navy (Executive Assistant).

May 1989-Jul 1989          Office of the Secretary of the Navy (Executive Assistant).

Jul 1989-May 1990          Office of Chief of Naval Operations (Director Total Force Programs Division) (OP-12).

May 1990-Aug 1991        Bureau of Naval Personnel (Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Policy and Career Progression) (PERS-2).

Oct 1991-Jul 1993           Commander Submarine Group Five.

Aug 1993-Jun 1996          Commander Submarine Force US Atlantic Fleet/Commander Submarine Command Atlantic.

1 Jul 1996                       Retired from the Navy.

Dates of Rank:

7 Jul 1959                       Midshipman, US Naval Academy

5 June 1963                     Ensign

5 December 1964            Lieutenant (junior grade).

1 December 1966            Lieutenant

1 March 1971                   Lieutenant Commander

1 June 1978                     Commander

1 July 1984                       Captain

1 October 1990                 Rear Admiral (Lower Half)

August 1992                      Designated Rear Admiral (Upper Half) while serving in billets commensurate with that grade.

1 September 1993           Rear Admiral (Upper Half)

9 July 1993                     Designated Vice Admiral while serving in billets commensurate with that grade.

6 August 1993                 Vice Admiral

Medals and Awards:

Distinguished Service Medal

Legion of Merit with four gold stars in lieu of subsequent awards

Meritorious Service Medal with four gold stars in lieu of subsequent awards

Navy Commendation Medal with one gold star in lieu of second award

Navy Achievement Medal

Navy Unit Commendation with two bronze stars

Meritorious unit Commendation with four bronze stars

Navy “E” Ribbon with three Es

Navy Expeditionary Medal with two bronze stars

National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with four bronze stars

Source:  Biographical essay and data were provided by Vice Admiral George W. Emery.  Photos are courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.

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