Melvin Williams (admiral)
American admiral
Vice Admiral Melvin Gene Williams Jr. (born November 3, 1955) is an American retired officer in the United States Navy. He is the former Commander, U.S. Second Fleet and former director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence.
After military service, Williams served for two years as a Presidential Appointee at the US Department of Energy. He was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy; 2011-2013- responsible for day-to-day Management and Operations of the Department of Energy (reporting to the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of Energy).
Since 2013, he has served in academia, and has been designated as a Joint Service Officer (JSO).
He and his father are the only pair of African Americans wherein the father reached a top enlisted rank and the son a top officer rank.
Biography
Early life and education
Vice Admiral Williams was born in San Diego, California and raised in Washington, DC. His father, Master Chief Melvin G. Williams, Sr., also served in the United States Navy (1951-1978). Chief Williams served aboard submarines, aircraft carriers, and other surface ships. Chief Williams would go on to meet then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and highlight continued discriminatory practices in the Steward's Branch of the Navy, practices Zumwalt would later end.
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