SELFLESS LEADERS
The members of the 2023 Class of U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduates are leaving a legacy of profound impact for the many lives they’ve positively influenced.
This Distinguished Graduate class embodies the Naval Academy’s mission. They are leaders who assumed “the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.” Their individual stories are filled with success as Navy and Marine Corps officers, as private industry leaders and in charitable endeavors.
Selfless leadership is a common theme among this year’s honorees. They are:
• Major General Leo V. Williams III ’70, USMCR (Ret.)
• Ronald L. Nicol ’75
• Admiral James G. Stavridis ’76, USN (Ret.)
• Rear Admiral Julius S. Caesar ’77, USNR (Ret.)
• Admiral Cecil D. Haney ’78, USN (Ret.)
Major General Williams spent more than 30 years in the Marine Corps, the final 25 in the Reserve. He balanced those responsibilities while blazing trails as an executive with Ford Motor Company. He was the first Black director on the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation’s Board of Directors, he is a mentor for future leaders and is helping with the development of the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center in his home state of South Carolina.
Mr. Nicol has played an instrumental role in assisting veteran transitions into the civilian world. As a partner in the Boston Consulting Group, Nicol emphasized the value of veterans, leading to the hiring of 64 Naval Academy alumni.
Admiral Stavridis followed his 37-year active-duty career by educating the next generation of leaders as dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The school doubled the number of women faculty members during his time, and he appointed the first woman chair of the school’s Board of Advisors.
Rear Admiral Caesar retired after 34 years of active and reserve service. He championed the formation of the Naval Academy Minority Association (NAMA) and has been a sought-after mentor for students at the Naval Academy Preparatory School and the U.S. Naval Academy.
During his Navy career, Admiral Haney earned a place among the Centennial Seven—the first seven Black officers who commanded submarines. This group supported each other while also serving as mentors for the next generation of Black midshipmen and Navy officers.
The impact of these Distinguished Graduates’ selfless acts will ripple for generations to come. For more on the 2023 Distinguished Graduate Award medal ceremony, including video coverage and complete honoree biographies, scan the QR code or visit www.usna.com/dga.
MAJOR GENERAL LEO V. WILLIAMS III ’70, USMCR (RET.)
HONOR. COURAGE. COMMITMENT.
These values define the U.S. Naval Academy, its midshipmen and its alumni. Major General Leo V. Williams III ’70, USMCR (Ret.), integrates these values into every aspect of his life and relying on them, has built a legacy of leadership and service, blazing trails of inclusion and making new paths for future leaders to trust.
That legacy started more than 100 years ago on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay in Norfolk, VA.
“My grandfather, Leo V. Williams Sr., joined the Navy when he was only 14, in 1903, as a cabin boy,” Williams said. “When he was old enough to enlist, he did. That was in 1907 as a steward. In that time, the only jobs that were available to Black people in the Navy were steward, cook or fireman.
“He retired, for the second time, in 1941, after 38 years of service. My father enlisted in the Navy in 1944, eventually becoming one of the first Black medical corpsmen in the Navy.”
This family tradition of service to country and breaking barriers was foundational to Williams, who took the lessons and trials of his father and grandfather and used them to tread new paths at the Naval Academy, the Marine Corps and the corporate world at Ford Motor Company. Even in retirement, Williams continues to serve the Academy, the Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center and his home Charleston, SC, community with the same passion and skill that has defined his life.
He points to his family, his community and the Academy for forging the values of integrity and truthfulness that have shaped his path.
“I’ve tried to embody integrity and truthfulness and teach them ever since my days at the Academy,” Williams said. “I began learning these lessons at home, growing up in my community, in my church and in the schools that I attended. Integrity and truthfulness were expectations.
“I appreciated those lessons more and more as I grew up. It was something I wanted to see and ensure that my sons and their children saw and learned from. I strove to show integrity and truthfulness with my associates so that I could teach the lessons when I could. These lessons were amplified by the Academy experience.”
Williams is highly accomplished in his military and civilian life, breaking racial and culture barriers in every realm. He credits his home, community and school life for the inspiration, encouragement and persistence to achieve.
“In 1963, my father graduated from the University of Virginia with a master’s degree in education, the first Black student to receive that degree,” Williams said. “He then became the principal of an all-Black elementary school. Ironically, it was named Robert E. Lee Elementary in Norfolk.
“When Norfolk began integrating schools, he became the first Black principal of a predominantly white elementary school.”
Williams had great examples from an early age of what it meant to be a path breaker. Graduating in 1966 from Norfolk’s all-Black Booker T. Washington High School, he was the class valedictorian of a class of 550 students. When it came time to make his own post high-school decision, military service was high on the priority list.
He chose to continue his family’s legacy of military service but with a slightly different path. “When you grow up in Norfolk, the Navy presence is strong,” Williams said. “Some are good examples but every Marine you see stands out. One of my best friends in high school’s older brother set a pattern for me. He was a Dartmouth graduate and chose to go into the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating.
He was one of the first Black Marine Corps pilots. Tragically, he died in a training accident.
“That sacrifice made a great impression on me. He set a poignant example for me. It’s a choice I’ve never regretted.”
There was another benefit for Williams.
“And everybody knows the Marine Corps has the best-looking uniforms in the world,” he said, with a smile.
PERSEVERANCE REWARDED
Williams accepted the challenge to attend the Naval Academy to pursue his dream of becoming a Marine Corps officer. But the path to admission was filled with barriers. The most challenging was securing a nomination from a member of Congress. In the Jim Crow South, there was an unwritten agreement among members of the House and Senate from former Confederate States to deny nominations to any Black students.
But the tightknit Norfolk community where Williams was raised knew his potential and understood the importance of the opportunity.
“My homeroom teacher found out that one of my best friends and I wanted to apply to the Academy. Her father in Detroit had a connection to Representative Charles Diggs,” Williams said. “She connected her father to the congressman, and he connected to us. In the end, Congressman Charles Diggs from Michigan nominated both my best friend and me from Virginia. We were admitted to the Class of 1970 and became the first Black students from Virginia to attend the Naval Academy.”
The Class of 1970 started out with only 12 Black students out of a class of 1,200. By the time they graduated, only six remained out of 850, less than 1 percent of the student body.
“Throughout my four years at the Academy, I was almost always the only Black midshipman in any of my classes,” Williams said. “Only once did I have another Black student in a course with me. That condition became a benefit for me because there was no choice for me but to really understand the people I dealt with every day.
“That setting became a course in and of itself. You have to teach yourself how to make it through. An outgrowth of the situation was the Black support team we formed among ourselves. The other Black midshipmen, faculty and staff all had a hand in providing support for us.”
His commitment, drive and skill were noticed by others.
“As a midshipman, Leo had very mature and practical leadership traits that enabled him to navigate and excel in an environment that was not as welcoming to him as it was to the other 4,000 midshipmen,” wrote Admiral Robert Natter ’67, USN (Ret.), in Williams’ DGA nomination. “It was obvious by his actions that Leo was determined not only to survive the Naval Academy but that he was determined to learn, thrive and lead. His leadership even then was an example to all who knew him.”
Being part of such a rare community during the Academy experience was pivotal to Williams’ future.
“When you graduate and become a United States Marine, the people you work for and work with and who work for you are a kaleidoscope,” Williams said. “The present Academy level of diversity invites a real understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Black students in my time at the Academy didn’t fully appreciate that lesson until later when you look at the success we enjoyed in our careers.”
The experiences Williams had as a midshipman were built on the lessons he learned from his parents, his community, his church and his schools. He learned how to excel, persevere, overcome challenges and to extend opportunities to those who came after him.
“We were conscious about maintaining a support group year after year so incoming Black midshipmen could have the best chance possible to succeed,” Williams said. “The support group became a literal lifeline because most folks who didn’t look like us did not know how to help us, except to do what they always did. We had to figure it out ourselves with one or two Black faculty members. They were very supportive. We knew they were always there when we needed them.”
After graduating from the Academy, Williams was commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps, where he served for eight years as an infantry and artillery officer, a rare combination of combat arms specialties. In 1978, he left active duty and transitioned to the Marine Corps Reserve, where he continued his career for another 25 years, attaining the rank of Major General and deploying two times in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and the War on Terrorism.
BARRIER BREAKER
His military career was side by side with his work as an executive at Ford Motor Company, where Williams continued to break barriers. Most often, he was the only Black executive in his division. During his career with Ford, Williams mastered strategic planning, new vehicle development and brand management for the Ford F-150 pickup truck and all of Ford’s SUVs.
He and his team were charged with naming new SUVs at the time. Williams took this unique opportunity to have Ford Motor Company give a salute to the expeditionary “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” character of the Marine Corps. Voila; the Ford Expedition was launched.
In retirement, his service to the Academy has continued and even grown. He has served as the first Black director on the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board and the first Black vice chairman of the USNA Alumni Association. He is currently helping to lead the development of the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center in Mount Pleasant, SC, creating not only a physical space to celebrate the values that mark heroes but developing an entire education program of leadership and character development.
“Leo has demonstrated the most uncommon of virtues, accentuated by his humility and selflessness,” wrote W. Thomas McQueeny, chairman of the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center. “These qualities have entailed the betterment of those within his sphere, as well as the amelioration of American society.”
Throughout his military and civilian career, Williams opened doors for others, in the same way his community supported him.
“In high school, I knew that my teachers and counselors wanted only the best for me,” he said. “Unless you have that kind of support, especially in a community that is underserved, you have a hand tied behind your back. When you have the sense that you can make a difference, it makes it easy to say, ‘Hey, let me look around and see how I can give others the same opportunity that I had.’”
His commitment to leadership, his drive to develop a better future for the world and his embodiment of the values of honor, courage and commitment began in his home and community in Norfolk and were cemented in his time at the Academy.
“I want the Academy to be the best leadership school in America,” Williams said. “You can learn engineering anywhere; you can learn any of the majors at any university. None of those experiences is unique except the leadership lessons that you learn on a daily basis, every day you’re here. We need to hold tight to that goal and become the best leadership institution in the world.”
With distinguished alumni like Williams, that goal will become reality.
RONALD L. NICOL ’75
Ron Nicol ’75 never sought the path of least resistance. His friends, U.S. Naval Academy classmates, clients and teammates said even when it might have been easier to take another path, Nicol always did the right thing.
That philosophy helped Nicol achieve levels of global leadership success few people can claim.
• One of the highest-level senior partners in the Boston Consulting Group, where he was key in its rise to global leadership in Fortune 500 consulting services and technical innovation.
• Named a top 25 global management consultant by Consulting Magazine in 2006.
• Chairman of the Board of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business when it was ranked the nation’s No. 1 business school.
• Director of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Transition Agency Action Team.
For Nicol, it all comes back to the Naval Academy.
“My professional success in life was due to my ability to attend the Naval Academy,” he said. “In the business world, I found that I was significantly ahead of my peers in having a coherent view of leadership and how to practice it successfully. Caring about the mission and the people, leading by example, they’re key elements of leadership that I learned at the Academy.”
Nicol didn’t imagine the career awaiting him when he applied to the Academy. The son of hard-working parents in the western Maryland town of Frostburg, Nicol won a scholarship from Johns Hopkins University. But his father, who had served on Leyte in World War II, encouraged him to try for the Academy.
“So I went to my guidance counselor and said, ‘My dad suggested I apply to the Naval Academy,’” Nicol recalled.
“She basically said, ‘Look Ron, nobody from here gets in there.’ Frostburg is on the edge of Appalachia, and most of my peers were going to go work an hourly job, blue collar work. And I said, ‘Well, I hear you, but I won’t forgive myself if I don’t apply.’
“I started the application process and went through all the testing and the physical requirements. I was playing a varsity tennis match when my dad came running on the court with a telegram from Senator John Glenn Bell and said, ‘Son, you’ve been appointed to the Naval Academy!’”
The Frostburg boy who almost didn’t get to apply, excelled at the Academy. A physics major, he graduated seventh in the Class of 1975. He was first battalion commander and served as the brigade honor coordinator.
Captain Arthur D. Ayars Jr. ’75, CEC, USN (Ret.), roomed with Nicol for two years. They remain close friends. Ayars is not surprised by Nicol’s accomplishments.
“I saw some very strong attributes, not just the intellect, but sense of humor, willing to work on a team,” Ayars said. “He used every bit of talent and capability to the maximum. It’s hard to really keep at it and make sure you’re contributing everything you can at the right time for the right reason, but he was that kind of guy.
“I think those talents clearly played out in the rest of his career. You throw in a personality and a down-to-earth kind of approach—that’s a killer combination as a leader.”
After completing Nuclear Power School in 1977, Nicol reported to Mariano G. Vallejo.
“When I arrived at the brow, I was met by Master Chief Petty Officer Davis,” Nicol said. “He had ribbons down to his navel and welcomed me aboard with a sharp salute and a crisp, ‘Welcome aboard, sir, you are my new boss. I’d like to take you aft and introduce you to your division, the Reactor Controls Division.’
“We went to the engineering spaces, where they presented me with a tool bag that had a screwdriver with a broken blade and a pair of pliers with a broken jaw. Master Chief Davis said, ‘Sir, if you touch the equipment with anything other than these, I’ll break your damn arm. Welcome aboard, sir.’ Chief Davis became one of the best mentors of my career.”
VALUING VETERANS
Nicol left active duty in 1982, went to work at Babcock and Wilcox, got his MBA at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, then worked at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for the next 30 years. Even as he rapidly moved up in the corporate world, he remained in the Naval Reserve.
“The least I could do for my country was remain available if needed,” Nicol said. “While I’m proud that I made it to the retired reserve list, there are many of my fellow graduates who contributed much more significantly to the service.”
Throughout his career, Nicol has been dedicated to giving back to the Academy and lifting up military veterans. The first Naval Academy alum hired by BCG, Nicol went on to hire 64 more Academy alumni at the company and to emphasize the value of veterans.
“One of the things I did that was most important was help translate military resumes,” Nicol said. “Most people don’t understand how the military works, so the recruiting people would get these resumes and say, ‘Okay, this person was a division officer on a submarine, got a Navy Achievement Medal,’ but they would have no context. I’d tell them that person could be a star.”
Nicol quickly earned a reputation for his leadership.
While heading a BCG consulting project to develop a new strategy for American Airlines, he met Roger Staubach ’65, who was a member of the airline’s board of directors.
“What impressed me most about Ron was the honesty and integrity he brought to his roles as a leader,” said Staubach in his Distinguished Graduate application endorsement of Nicol. “As a fellow Naval Academy graduate, I was proud of Ron’s leadership ability to do the right thing and tell the truth, no matter the consequences.”
Nicol said the Academy’s honor concept was very important to him. He’s used it to guide him since.
“I’ve made mistakes in my life, but I’ve always known what the correct path is,” Nicol said. “Just like there are rules of the road at sea, there are rules of the road in the corporate world. Breaking the rules may sometimes allow for shortcuts, but many times result in collisions. I have slept well at night for 50 years because I know the difference between right and wrong and always try to do what is right.”
Nicol also has paid his success forward by mentoring his teams at BCG.
“I see it as my responsibility to give others the benefit of my experience,” he said. “By simultaneously learning from my mentors and mentoring others, I compounded my team’s capability.”
Raj Varadarajan said Nicol has been his mentor for 17 years, since he started working for BCG after earning his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT.
“He’s been my guide, and a thought partner,” Varadarajan said. “We’ve probably met and spoken most Sundays for over a decade. I’ve learned a lot from him, and he’s mentored all kinds of people, all over the place, all the time.”
Varadarajan said Nicol’s reputation among his BCG colleagues is so revered that there’s an unofficial guide they call “Ron’s Rules,” or “What Would Ron Do?”
“If I were to say what makes Ron just stand out completely from everybody else, there’s three things … principles over pragmatism, mission orientation and truth. That describes the core of his character,” said Varadarajan.
Nicol admits one thing he didn’t handle well was retirement.
“The first six weeks was nirvana, because I could sleep in. But then I started asking what’s my purpose in life? What am I doing? And so, I just crashed and burned. I mean, it was just miserable. Then I got the call from Chris Christie’s chief of staff.”
The call was asking Nicol to lead the Agency Action Team for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Transition.
“I assembled a team of 350 volunteers to lead the transition of 80 agencies of the U.S. government,” Nicol said. “We worked closely with the Obama team to ensure a safe and secure transition. It was one of the most challenging leadership roles of my career, given the chaos and turmoil of the campaign and election. The lessons and training I received at the Naval Academy were invaluable.”
Nicol now serves on several corporate boards and looks forward to time with family.
“My wife, Liane, is a saint. Even though I spent relatively little of my cumulative career time deployed in the Navy, I spent most of my professional life away from home. She was a fantastic mother to our two daughters, who have blessed us with five wonderful grandchildren.”
And he continues to give back to the Naval Academy. Nicol is a lifetime member of the USNA Alumni Association, a major donor to a number of projects and he helped equip the Naval Academy Center for Cyber Security Studies, in Hopper Hall. He also created a scholarship for transitioning Academy alumni and other veterans to attend Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
“The Naval Academy is something that is bigger than each of us,” Nicol said. “It represents the sacrifice and struggle of all who have attended, of those graduates who paid the ultimate price for our liberty. I would guess that few of us, certainly me, realized during Plebe Summer that we were embarking on a journey that would change our lives forever.”
Nicol’s Distinguished Graduate award is well earned, Doug Ayars said.
“Ron has made the most of every opportunity to achieve personal success. The benefit of that is all he has done for the United States Navy, the corporate world and now for the United States Naval Academy,” Ayars said.
Nicol said there is no greater honor he could imagine than being named a Distinguished Graduate.
“To be recognized by the institution that has been responsible for my success is a wonderful feeling,” Nicol said. “This honor is humbling. It inspires me to set an example for those who follow.”
RON’S RULES
• You get more credit by giving credit away.
• Address the elephant in the room immediately and move on.
• The grass is brown everywhere.
• Time kills deals.
• You have two ears and one mouth—use them in that ratio.
ADMIRAL JAMES G. STAVRIDIS ’76, USN (RET.)
“In two words, I feel humbled and lucky.”
It is one achievement to excel in command and citizenship, but to become a model commander and citizen is another. Admiral James Stavridis ’76, USN (Ret.), has been the latter throughout his career in and out of uniform.
Stavridis grew up in a military family living in various parts of the United States and Europe. His father, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Korean War and Vietnam War, provided a template for Stavridis to pursue an interest in continuing a legacy of military service in his family.
“You could say I continued on in the family business,” Stavridis said.
His journey to continue the “family business” began on the Severn River at the U.S. Naval Academy. This would ultimately become the cornerstone of Stavridis’ extraordinary military and professional career.
During his time at the Naval Academy, U.S. troops were still engaged in combat in Vietnam, a war that would end before Stavridis and his classmates commissioned in 1976. With a changing military environment in the U.S., Stavridis embraced the adjustments as well as the challenges that come with being a midshipman. Like many others before him, Stavridis took advantage of his time at the Academy to begin to develop skills that he would carry with him for life.
“Being organized, staying calm under pressure, treating everyone with equal respect, trying to find innovative solutions—have stood me in good stead throughout my career,” Stavridis said.
Being a member of the varsity men’s tennis and squash teams as well as being brigade operations officer also helped shape Stavridis into a well-rounded midshipman, which would translate into a nearly four-decade long career in the Navy.
After commissioning, Stavridis took everything he learned from the Academy and began applying it to his post-Academy career and searched for more ways to develop as a naval officer. This would translate into a wave of new chapters in his life.
As he went through each new chapter, however, not one was more important to Stavridis than his time at the Academy.
“I think of my life like a series of books on a shelf,” Stavridis said. “The book of Midshipman Stavridis is very foundational to all that followed. I spent 37 years on active duty after graduation, serving in the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War as XO of a cruiser, in the Balkans conflict as CO of a destroyer and the Global War on Terrorism as a commodore and rear admiral in command of a Carrier Strike Group—all of those are separate books. All the books are in some sense an extension of what I learned in Annapolis.”
One of the books that stands out the most is Stavridis serving as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO. Stavridis was also the first Naval officer to be the NATO Supreme Allied Commander.
Each of these commands would lead Stavridis to become one of the longest serving combatant commanders in the service. After a 37-year Naval career, Stavridis retired as a 4-star admiral, received more than 50 medals and decorations and left an indelible impact on the nation he served.
CONTINUED SERVICE
Having earned his Ph.D. as a junior officer from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, he returned there as the 12th dean after retiring from the Navy in 2013.
During his five-year tenure as dean, Stavridis diversified and strengthened the curriculum through the study of principal subjects such as social networks and cybersecurity. The school doubled the number of women faculty members during his tenure, and he appointed the first woman chair of the school’s board of advisors.
“I think education is service, something I learned from a superb life-mentor, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates,” Stavridis said.
As part of his educational service, he has published 12 books to further the growth of leadership in the Navy and in civilian life.
Today, Stavridis is in the international finance field and continues his service as chair of the board of the Rockefeller Foundation, the oldest charitable foundation in the U.S.
For Stavridis, to be linked back to the Academy as a Distinguished Graduate means more than any individual accolade; he knows what it means to his class and those who have come before him.
“When I look at the list of previous awardees, and think about how very, very few graduates are so honored; I am humbled to be included,” Stavridis said. “I’m especially proud to follow in the wake of surface warfare mentors like Admiral Mike Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.), Admiral Bob Natter ’67, USN (Ret.), Vice Admiral Cutler Dawson ’70, USN (Ret.), and Vice Admiral Scott Redd ’66, USN (Ret.). And I’m proud to be one of four distinguished graduates so far selected from the proud Bicentennial Class of 1976.”
Stavridis is not the only member of the Class of 1976 to appreciate the weight of this award. Class of 1976 President Captain Kevin F. Stone ’76, USNR (Ret.), knows his classmate’s global impact and accomplishments make him worthy of the recognition.
“It goes without saying that Jim’s career in the Navy and as a civilian has been nothing short of spectacular,” Stone said.
“His ties to the Naval Academy have continued throughout. This is truly a distinguished career.” Stavridis can claim remarkable success in his “family business.” He is proud his daughter, Julia, chose the “family business” as a Navy nurse.
In the Class of 1976 Lucky Bag, Stavridis’ entry includes the following line written nearly 47 years ago: “That he will excel at all he does, is a certainty.”
Indeed it was.
REAR ADMIRAL JULIUS S. CAESAR ’77, USNR (RET.)
Rear Admiral Julius Caesar ’77, USNR (Ret.), nearly made a critical mistake by underestimating his own ability.
Although his father suggested a path toward a military career after graduating from high school in Cleveland, OH, Caesar wasn’t convinced. When the U.S. Naval Academy was raised as an option, Caesar demurred.
Fortunately, he overcame his self-doubt. He spent a year at the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS), successfully applied to the Naval Academy, and his life’s path was forever changed when he became a part of the Brigade of Midshipmen.
Reflecting on his initial hesitation to seek an appointment to the Naval Academy, Caesar is grateful. Had he balked at an opportunity just because it was challenging, he said he would have missed out on a Naval Academy education and a 34-year Navy career. Caesar tries to use his journey to inspire and uplift future midshipmen.
He said prospective midshipmen have nothing to lose by applying. Caesar said everyone experiences life’s tribulations and the test of character is how you respond to hardships. He advises young people to not sell themselves short when opportunities arise.
“I’ve learned from that experience to be careful of closing a door because you don’t know when you have to walk through it to achieve your goal,” he said. “My journey to Annapolis almost didn’t happen. Although, I had a desire as a young man to be a leader and a role model, I just didn’t know at the time how my dream would manifest itself.”
As one of 13 in the Class of 1977 to achieve flag rank, Caesar’s exemplary career in both the Navy Reserve and as a corporate executive earned him the admiration and respect of his peers. But it’s his unwavering commitment to promoting an environment of diversity and inclusion within the Academy and its alumni that cements his legacy.
“Julius’ record of accomplishments and dedication to the Naval Academy are well-documented,” said Captain Richard Thayer ’77, USN (Ret.), a member of Caesar’s nominating committee. “He has always strived to create change through a positive and constructiveapproach. Over the years, he has given a voice to many in the Naval Academy family who may have thought they did not have a voice within our various alumni organizations and associations.”
LAYING HIS KEEL
Lifelong friends, Thayer and Caesar met at Naval Station Great Lakes, IL, during boot camp. After talking with a Navy football scout, Caesar enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1972 while still in high school. Upon completion of recruit training, he reported for duty at Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD, to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School.
“I’m proud to have graduated from NAPS,” Caesar said. “It’s a great program and a wonderful resource for students like me, who show aptitude and potential but need some help honing their study skills and boosting their grades to the level required to attend Annapolis. It’s also one of the largest sources for minorities to enter the Naval Academy.”
Six weeks before Caesar’s induction into the Naval Academy, his father died. Caesar could have left the Academy on a hardship discharge and returned to Cleveland to help take care of his mother, but she would hear nothing of it.
“After my father died, my mother went to work cleaning people’s homes and doing what she had to do to take care of herself and my service-disabled uncle who lived with her,” Caesar said. “She was the perfect Navy mom—always cheerful, caring and unselfish.”
Caesar describes his mother as his superstar, a guiding force in his life who supported his aspirations and visited him in Annapolis every chance she could. Caesar entered the Academy as part of the largest class of Black male midshipmen in the school’s history. Of the 125 who started, 62 graduated and commissioned. Caesar is the only Black graduate in the Class of 1977 to achieve flag rank. As a midshipman, he was part of 17th Company, which was Color Company for two of his four years. Caesar attributes his academic success in part to his roommate, Commander William Millward ’77, USN (Ret.).
“I tell students today, ‘You know how to get through the Academy? Have a really smart roommate,’” Caesar said. “We were roommates the entire time I was there and he helped me get through.”
Captain John Heaphy Fellowes ’56, USN (Ret.), also influenced Caesar during his time at the Academy. Fellowes, a pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1966, spent six and a half years as a prisoner of war. Despite his harrowing circumstances, he maintained an infectious sense of humor, earning him the nickname “Happy Jack.”
“I had Captain Fellowes for leadership,” Caesar said. “It amazed me how he went through six-plus years of beatings and deprivation and came out with this tremendous sense of humor intact.
I wondered if I would have the strength to endure all he did and not become a bitter individual. I learned a lot about the importance of resiliency and laying your keel from Captain Fellowes.”
EXEMPLIFYING SERVICE
Caesar spent six years on active duty as a surface warfare officer. When he was ready to transition into civilian life, he realized he wasn’t ready to quit the Navy so he joined the Navy Reserve.
He served an additional 28 years as a reservist and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in January 2006.
“When I made admiral, my mother—my rock and my foundation—was sitting there in the front row just beaming,” Caesar said. “She had a look on her face that said, ‘My boy made it.’”
Though Caesar retired from the Navy in September 2011 after 34 years of service, his connection to the Academy endures. In 2018, he championed the formation of the Naval Academy Minority Association (NAMA), a Shared Interest Group that provides a safe and inclusive place for midshipmen and alumni to share their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
“With great energy and determination—if you know JC, you know what I mean—and consummate skill, he adeptly shepherded the NAMA SIG application through the various committees and ultimately received a unanimous vote by the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board to establish NAMA,” said Admiral Robert Natter ’67, USN (Ret.), who was then chairman of the Board. “Following a full career as a Navy officer, JC continues to contribute his scarce time in support of the Naval Academy, our Alumni Association and fellow alumni.”
Under Caesar’s steady leadership, NAMA presented the 2022 USNA Alumni Leadership Forum, a two-day symposium with the Secretary of the Navy, Honorable Carlos del Toro ’83, as a keynote speaker. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday ’85, USN, and corporate leaders attended a gala dinner recognizing 150 years of Black achievement at the Naval Academy where Montel Williams ’80 delivered remarks. The Alumni Leadership Forum will be held each year to engage alumni and midshipmen.
The association also launched STEM and admissions programs for schools in underserved communities. In 2020, Caesar organized a series of virtual forums for alumni and midshipmen to discuss issues of social unrest as protests occurred across the nation.
He’s also served as chair of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation’s Athletic & Scholarship Programs (A&SP) Awards Committee for the past five years. Recognizing that women were underrepresented at A&SP awards ceremonies, he spearheaded the effort to establish three awards recognizing the accomplishments of female athletes.
Caesar frequently is tapped to mentor students at NAPS and the Naval Academy.
“There was a midshipman who was on the verge of leaving the Academy,” Caesar says. “He needed some tough love and the chance to talk with someone he could relate to. I’m proud to say he got back on track. He’s scheduled to graduate in May and has been selected as a Navy pilot. I know what it’s like to hit a bump in the road. I’ve been fortunate to have mentors in my career who’ve helped me find my way. It’s gratifying to be able to do the same for others.”
Caesar credits Admiral Michael G. Mullen ’68, USN (Ret.), 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Vice Admiral John G. Cotton ’73, USN (Ret.), and Major General Leo V. Williams III ’70, USMCR (Ret.), as mentors.
These thoughtful acts of one-on-one mentorship, relationships formed out of the spotlight to help others find their own path, define Caesar’s character for many.
“Rear Admiral Caesar is a leader that sees the best in people, advocates for their future and elevates all to be their best,” said Lieutenant John-Rex Spivey ’13, USN, director of the Naval Junior Officer Counsel. “He is a class act known for asking, ‘What can I do for you?’”
MOLDING THE NEXT GENERATION
Though he’s honored and humbled by the recognition as a distinguished graduate, Caesar has never sought public recognition for his work. He finds fulfillment in helping others and making space for them to grow.
He spent three decades balancing dual careers in military and industry. He’s currently an executive with NetApp Inc., a global Fortune 500 cloud solutions, artificial intelligence and data management firm which supports his volunteer activities. He’s also a father to Christopher (spouse Megan), Jessica (spouse Jamarll), and grandfather to Mya, Jaidyn, Kyla, Isaiah and Leora.
“Faith, family and friends.” Caesar said. “Those are the most important things to build resiliency in your life.”
As a teen, Caesar envisioned a future where he could serve as a leader and role model. When he speaks to midshipmen now, he shares his story—both the hardships and the triumphs. When he arrived at the Academy, there weren’t many people in the Navy who looked like him. Now, his is a face that other midshipmen can look up to—“If JC can make it, you can, too.”
“The Academy did so much for me,” Caesar said. “It set a high standard that I strive to follow to this day. It put me on the path to a rewarding career and allowed me to make a good living and support my family. Those of us who can trace our success to the Academy have a responsibility to mold the next generation of leaders.”
ADMIRAL CECIL D. HANEY ’78, USN (RET.)
“This isn’t just about me. My performance may help or impede others coming behind me.”
Admiral Cecil D. Haney ’78, USN (Ret.), blazed a historic path during his 38-year Naval career, serving as the first Black commander in several notable assignments. But his lasting legacy is the generations of midshipmen and military officers who have benefited from his dedicated leadership and mentorship.
Haney’s prestigious career can be traced back to a series of conversations with his colleagues while working for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) during high school.
He spent his summers using a mainframe computer and punch cards to help keep track of shipyard data. His supervisors took an interest in him and encouraged him to learn computer programming languages.
As graduation approached, Haney set his sights on enlisting in the Army and saving money to attend medical school. Again, his NAVSEA supervisors had a recommendation. They introduced him to a Navy captain who explained the opportunities at the military service academies and ROTC programs, leading Haney to apply to both. As he learned more about the U.S. Naval Academy—and how he could still serve on the ground in the Marines—Haney knew he had found his match.
While Haney traded his Army plans to enroll at the Academy, he still hoped to join the pre-med program—until it was disbanded shortly after his arrival. Instead, he pursued ocean engineering, which opened his eyes to the possibilities outside joining the Marines. Then, during one summer, he had a chance to cruise on a submarine.
“I thought it was pretty neat,” he said. “I could go into the water in stealth and do all kinds of interesting things with a very small crew, compared to an aircraft carrier or a big cruiser.
“I started looking at the program and said, ‘If Admiral [Hyman] Rickover, USN (Ret.), Class of 1922, will accept me, I will go into the submarine business.’ Thankfully, he did.”
AN INSPIRATIONAL LEADER
Haney said every assignment in his career had “great moments of growth,” starting with his first submarine assignment aboard John C. Calhoun.
“To have the trust and confidence of a commanding officer, to conn the ship [with little direction] from the captain, you feel like you’ve achieved something significant,” Haney said.
He went on to serve as the commanding officer of fast-attack submarine Honolulu, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). As PACFLT commander, he led the largest fleet in the Navy and was critical in providing the president with the military forces to pivot to the Pacific and serve as a deterrent to Chinese aggression. At STRATCOM, he fought for modernization and improved readiness for the nation’s nuclear forces and increased investments in space and cyberspace.
“When I graduated from the Academy, my goal was to command a ship someday,” he said. “While in command of Honolulu, getting to do deployments out to the West Pacific theater, doing some critical operations, was a pinnacle moment in my life.”
Because of his work ethic and performance, Haney was often selected for some of the more challenging shore assignments.
He served as assistant for Enlisted Affairs at Naval Reactors; congressional appropriations liaison officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Comptroller; deputy chief of staff for Plans, Policies and Requirements, U.S. Pacific Fleet; director of the Submarine Warfare Division; and director of the Naval Warfare Integration Group.
Haney has been recognized for his leadership, particularly the prestigious Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Leadership Award for Inspirational Leadership for his performance as commanding officer of Honolulu. He also received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
When Haney served as director of the Submarine Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he led the requirement specifications and advocated for the replacement of the aging Ohio class strategic ballistic missile submarines. He worked closely with Admiral Kirkland Donald ’75, USN (Ret.), who said Haney was “unsurpassed” in ensuring the submarine fleet had the resources it needed to accomplish its mission.
“His assignments were some of the toughest in the submarine community, and he set the example of excellence,” Donald said. “Through command at every level, he continued to lead with decisiveness and compassion, earning numerous awards and the undying devotion of a generation of sailors.”
A MODEL TO THOSE WHO FOLLOWED
While Haney’s career achievements are notable on their own, they are even more remarkable because he was the first Black individual to serve as a 4-star submariner, as PACFLT commander, and as STRATCOM commander. He is also only the second Black 4-star admiral in the nearly 250-year history of the Navy.
Haney was the sixth Black commander of a U.S. submarine, and he earned a place among the Centennial Seven—the seven Black officers who commanded submarines in the 20th century. Members of the group come together for support and mentorship, and to to encourage and inform Black midshipmen and Navy officers about career opportunities.
Haney recalls one moment in his initial submarine training when Captain C.A. “Pete” Tzomes ’67, USN (Ret.), the first Black submarine commander, pulled him aside to talk about the privileges of being a submariner and the challenges of being a minority in the sub service and his expectations.
“His expectation was that we were going to do great things and that we were going to work hard to achieve as best we could,” Haney said. “It was a bit of a reckoning to recognize that this isn’t just about me. My performance may help or impede others coming behind me. That was a motivator to work as hard as I could.”
Later, when Haney was in command of Honolulu, fellow Centennial Seven member Vice Admiral Bruce Grooms ’80, USN (Ret.), was the commanding officer of Asheville. They would meet occasionally to talk about their experiences.
“We would have a heart-to-heart talks,” Haney said. “These were roll-up-your-sleeves conversations about how you were dealing with various people, material and operational challenges.”
AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE
Mentorship has been a constant undercurrent of Haney’s career, from his Naval Sea Systems Command supervisors that turned his attention to the Academy, to his support of young Black midshipmen and officers as a member of the Centennial Seven. He was also a Blue and Gold Information Officer in Washington, DC, and spent decades guiding applicants from predominantly underserved communities through the Academy’s admissions process.
Haney, along with the other members of the Centennial Seven, are credited with nearly tripling the number of Black submarine commanding officers in the 21st century.
“He has been instrumental in focusing this esteemed group to proactively identify, support and mentor young Black sailors and junior officers in their Navy careers and beyond,” says Vice Admiral Joe Leidig ’78, USN (Ret.). “As the saying goes, Admiral Haney has not only ‘talked the talk,’ he has, and is, ‘walking the walk’ to the betterment of the Naval service and our nation.”
Haney advises the young officers he mentors to be strong communicators who can clearly articulate their plans and intentions yet listen carefully to others. He also stresses the importance of valuing the opinions of people at all levels—not just those in positions of power—and to have more than one mentor for a more balanced perspective.
Even in retirement, Haney continues to lend his expertise by serving as an advisor or board member for a variety of organizations, including the Aerospace Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, Tenet Healthcare, Systems Planning and Analysis Incorporated, the Center for a New American Security, the Naval Studies Board, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory. He is also chairman of the board of directors for the Military Child Education Coalition. Additionally, he is the chair of the trustee board for Hillandale Baptist Church, teaches Bible study and enjoys singing in the choir.
“When I retired, I had several goals,” he said. “I didn’t want to become a technology dinosaur, so I wanted to be associated with organizations that would keep me up-to-date. Second, I didn’t want my strategic thinking to depreciate; I wanted to help organizations think strategically. And I wanted to maximize my time on the home front and be the best grandpa on the planet.”
With mentorship—both giving and receiving—being so central to his identity, it should be no surprise that he sees his recognition as a Distinguished Graduate as an acknowledgment of those relationships.
“The Distinguished Graduate Award has my name on it,” he said, “but I look at it as something for all of those individuals throughout my career who have worked with me, who have enabled me to be successful. It’s all about them.”