Sandy Winnefeld
Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
Assumed office
May 4, 2022[1]
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded bySteve Feinberg
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
In office
August 4, 2011  July 31, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJames Cartwright
Succeeded byPaul J. Selva
Personal details
Born
James Alexander Winnefeld Jr.

(1956-04-24) April 24, 1956
Coronado, California, U.S.
RelativesJames A. Winnefeld Sr. (father)
EducationGeorgia Institute of Technology (BS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1978–2015
RankAdmiral
CommandsVice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
United States Northern Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command
United States Sixth Fleet
Carrier Strike Group Two
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
USS Cleveland (LPD-7)
VF-211
Battles/warsOperation Desert Shield
Gulf War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
AwardsDefense Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Cross (Canada)

James Alexander "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr. (born April 24, 1956[2]) is a retired United States Navy admiral who serves as the chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board since May 4, 2022. While on active duty, Winnefeld served as the ninth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 4, 2011, to July 31, 2015.

He previously served as the fourth commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the 21st commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from May 19, 2010, to August 3, 2011.

Prior to that, Winnefeld served as Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, Joint Staff which he concurrently served as the Senior Member, U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Military Staff Committee. His other operational commands include serving as the commander of U.S. Sixth Fleet and commander of Allied Joint Command Lisbon.

As the vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Winnefeld was the second highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces, second only to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2015, he retired from the Navy after over 37 years of service. He currently serves on the board of directors for Raytheon Technologies, one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world.

Biography

Winnefeld's military lineage extended to his father and grandfather who both served in the Navy.[3] His great-grandfather was a Prussian cavalryman.[3]

Winnefeld graduated from Georgia Tech in 1978 with high honors in Aerospace Engineering and received his commission via the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program.[4]

While at Georgia Tech, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. After designation as a naval aviator, he served with two fighter squadrons and as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). While an instructor at TOPGUN, he worked with crew from Paramount Pictures on the production of the movie Top Gun. Winnefeld went on to graduate with the highest distinction from the U.S. Naval War College off-campus program. He is a recipient of the Admiral William J. Crowe Award as Joint Staff Action Officer of the Year and the Vice Admiral William W. Behrens Jr. award as the honor graduate of his class at Nuclear Power School.

His command tours include Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211), USS Cleveland (LPD-7) and as the 17th commanding officer of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He led Enterprise through her 18th deployment, which included combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom immediately after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. As commander, Carrier Strike Group 2/Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, he led Task Forces 50, 152 and 58 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and maritime interception operations in the Persian Gulf. He most recently served concurrently as Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; Commander, Allied Joint Command Lisbon; Commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO;[5] Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; and Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander, Europe.[5]

His shore tours include service as an action officer in the Joint Staff Operations Directorate, as senior aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as executive assistant to the vice chief of naval operations. As a flag officer he served ashore as Director, Warfare Programs and Transformational Concepts, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and as Director, Joint Innovation and Experimentation at U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Winnefeld is now a Distinguished Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.[6] He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School.[7]

Winnefeld began speaking out on his son's opioid overdose death and advocating for awareness of the opioid epidemic.[8][9][10]

In an April 5, 2020 phone call to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer touted Winnefeld as a potential COVID-19 czar to oversee the production and disbursement of medical equipment.[11]

In May 2022, Winnefeld was appointed to serve as chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.[1]

September 11 attacks

Winnefeld was the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise during the September 11 attacks.[12] The Enterprise was headed to Cape Town, South Africa, for a port call.[12] The crew was watching television at sea on September 11 and watched the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 airliner strike the south tower of the World Trade Center.[12] Acting without specific direction from the National Command Authority, then-Captain Winnefeld gave the order to put the ship's rudder over (180° degree turn) to take station in the Arabian Sea.[12]

The carrier's aircraft were within range of Afghanistan the next morning.[12] For over three weeks starting on October 7, aircraft from Enterprise flew nearly 700 missions and dropped large amounts of ordnance over Afghanistan. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern Clark praised Winnefeld and credited him for taking initiative as well as for the Enterprise's crew readiness.[12]

Dates of rank

Ensign Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant Lieutenant Commander Commander Captain
O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6
June 7, 1978 June 7, 1980 July 1, 1982 September 1, 1988 September 1, 1992 September 1, 1997
Rear Admiral (lower half) Rear Admiral (upper half) Vice Admiral Admiral
O-7 O-8 O-9 O-10
October 1, 2003 May 6, 2006 September 14, 2007 May 19, 2010

[13]

Military awards and decorations

Gold star
Gold star
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Naval Aviator insignia
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters | Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit
with one star
Bronze Star
Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal Air Medal
with Strike/Flight numeral "1"
Navy Commendation Medal Joint Service Achievement Medal Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
with cluster
Navy Unit Commendation
with one star
Navy E Ribbon
with wreathed Battle "E" Device
National Defense Service Medal
with one star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
with two stars
Southwest Asia Service Medal
with one star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
with six stars
Meritorious Service Cross
Military Division
(Canada)[14]
French National Order of Merit, Commander Pistol Marksmanship Medal
with Expert Marksmanship Device
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

He is also a recipient of the William J. Crowe, William W. Behrens Jr. awards and the 2012 recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award.

Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE)

After losing a son to opioid addiction, the Winnefeld family began dedicating themselves to studying the issue. They launched a website called SafeProject.us with the goal of saving other families from experiencing the same tragedy.[8][15][16]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "President Biden Announces Appointments to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and the National Science Board". The White House. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  2. "Grammysa - pafg23 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Winnefeld, James (November 29, 2017). "No Family Is Safe From This Epidemic". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  4. "NROTC Alum Winnefeld Nominated by Obama to Joint Chiefs". Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. June 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Flag Officer Announcement July 22, 2008
  6. "Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Member Named to Faculty".
  7. "James A. Winnefeld, Jr". Belfer Center. January 6, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Retired Adm. Sandy Winnefeld speaks out on son's opioid overdose death". CBS News. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  9. Winnefeld, James (November 29, 2017). "No Family Is Safe From This Epidemic". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  10. Horton, Alex (December 1, 2017). "A Navy admiral lost his son to opioid addiction. Now he's marshaling support to end the epidemic". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  11. Klar, Rebecca (April 6, 2020). "Schumer names coronavirus czar candidates in plea to White House". The Hill. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bush: "The might of our Navy is needed again"". Sea Power Almanac. 2002. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  13. The Chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949-2012 (PDF) (2 ed.). Joint History Office. October 27, 2012. p. 333. ISBN 978-1480200203.
  14. http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=67&lan=eng Governor General of Canada
  15. "S.A.F.E." Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE). Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  16. Horton, Alex (December 1, 2017). "A Navy admiral lost his son to opioid addiction. Now he's marshaling support to end the epidemic". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
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