United States Navy admiral
William Evans "Bill" Gortney
(born September 25, 1955) is a retired
United States Navy
admiral
who served as the sixth commander of
United States Northern Command
and the 23rd commander of
North American Aerospace Defense Command
(NORAD). He previously served as the Commander,
United States Fleet Forces Command
from September 14, 2012 to December 2014 and
Director of the Joint Staff
from July 1, 2010 to August 2012.
[1]
Prior to that, he served as Commander,
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command
/
5th Fleet
. He assumed his post as CDRUSNORTHCOM and commander of NORAD on December 5, 2014, and was succeeded by General
Lori Robinson
on May 13, 2016.
Early life and education
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Gortney was born on September 25, 1955,
[2]
and graduated from Elon College (now
Elon University
) in
North Carolina
, earning a
Bachelor of Arts
in History and
Political Science
in 1977. He was an officer of
Kappa Sigma
fraternity and a member of the varsity soccer team and the rugby club. The son of a retired
United States Navy
captain and a second generation
Naval Aviator
, Gortney entered the United States Navy as an aviation
officer
candidate at
Aviation Officer Candidate School
(AOCS, Class 12?77 [The Gamesmen]) in the summer of 1977 at
NAS Pensacola
, Florida.
Career
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Gortney received his commission in the
United States Naval Reserve
in September 1977 and earned his wings of gold and designation as a Naval Aviator following graduation from the jet strike pilot training pipeline in December 1978.
[3]
Shore assignments include Training Squadron 26 (VT-26),
NAS Chase Field
,
Texas
, 1978?1980; Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125),
NAS Lemoore
, California, 1984?1988, and aide and flag lieutenant to the Assistant
Chief of Naval Operations
(Air Warfare),
Washington
, 1990?1991. He is a 1996 graduate of the
Naval War College
, earning a
Master of Arts
in International Security Affairs. Additional command tours include Strike Fighter Squadron 15 (VFA-15), 1994?1995, on board
USS
Theodore Roosevelt
, and VFA-106, the East Coast F/A-18 Fleet Replacement Squadron,
NAS Cecil Field
, Florida, 1996?1997. Fleet assignments include Attack Squadron 82 (VA-82), 1981?1984, on board
USS
Nimitz
; VFA-87, 1988?1990, on board USS
Theodore Roosevelt
; executive officer, VFA-132, 1991?1992, on board
USS
Forrestal
and executive officer, VFA-15, 1992?1994, on board USS
Theodore Roosevelt
.
In 2015, Gortney ordered "recruiting centers, reserve centers and ROTC facilities to increase surveillance and take basic steps such as closing blinds at the offices," in response to an armed shooting in Tennessee that resulted in the deaths of five US servicemen.
[4]
Flag assignments
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Gortney's first flag tour was as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Global Force Management and Joint Operations,
Fleet Forces Command
, Norfolk, Virginia, 2004?2006. This was followed by assignment as Commander,
Carrier Strike Group 10
, during which time he was promoted to a two-star
rear admiral
. Appointed for promotion to
vice admiral
, he was then assigned as Commander,
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command
/
U.S. 5th Fleet
/ Combined Maritime Forces. This was Gortney's third command tour in the
U.S. Central Command
(USCENTCOM) area of operations, supporting Maritime Security Operations and combat operations for
Operation Enduring Freedom
and
Operation Iraqi Freedom
. His previous command assignments in the USCENTCOM area of operations include Command of
Carrier Air Wing 7
while he was still a captain, embarked aboard
USS
John F. Kennedy
, in direct support of OEF in 2002. His second was as Commander,
Carrier Strike Group Ten
, on board
USS
Harry S. Truman
, in support of Maritime Security Operations and OIF from 2007?2008.
Gortney's experience in the
United States Central Command
area of operations includes serving on the Joint Staff, J-33 Joint Operations Department CENTCOM Division (JODCENT) from 1998?1999, and tours supporting the violent peace of
Operation Southern Watch
from 2000?2001 as Deputy for Current Operations,
Joint Task Force Southwest Asia
(JTF-SWA) at
Eskan Village
, Saudi Arabia, and deploying as Deputy Commander,
Carrier Air Wing 7
, on board
USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower
. He also served as Chief, Naval and Amphibious Liaison Element (NALE) to the Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, at
Prince Sultan Air Base
, Saudi Arabia, for the opening months of the
2003 invasion of Iraq
, followed as Chief of Staff for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain from 2003?2004.
Gortney has flown over 5,360 flight hours and 1,265 carrier-arrested landings, primarily in the
A-7E Corsair II
and the
F/A-18 Hornet
.
Awards and decorations
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Medals and ribbons
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References
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