Frank Kelso | |
|---|---|
 Kelso in 1994 | |
| Born | (1933-07-11)July 11, 1933 Fayetteville, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | June 23, 2013(2013-06-23) (aged 79) Norfolk, Virginia, United States |
| Buried | Rose Hill Cemetery, Fayetteville, Tennessee |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Service years | 1956–1994 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Chief of Naval Operations Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic United States Atlantic Command United States Atlantic Fleet Sixth Fleet NATO Naval Striking Force and Support Forces Southern Europe Submarine Squadron 7 USS Bluefish USS Finback Naval Nuclear Power School |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (4) |
| Spouses | Landess McCown Kelso (−2012; her death) Georgia Robinson (2013; his death) |
Frank Benton Kelso II (July 11, 1933 – June 23, 2013) was anadmiral of theUnited States Navy, who served asChief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1994.
Kelso was born inFayetteville, Tennessee, on July 11, 1933. He attended public school and theUniversity of the South inSewanee, Tennessee, prior to entering theUnited States Naval Academy in 1952.
Following graduation in 1956, Kelso served on the cargo shipUSS Oglethorpe before attendingSubmarine School in 1958.
On completion of training, Kelso was assigned to thesubmarineUSS Sabalo before returning to Submarine School for nuclear power training in January 1960. He then served one year in the Nuclear Power Department at the school. Subsequent tours included the pre-commissioning crew ofUSS Pollack, Engineering Officer aboardUSS Daniel Webster and Executive Officer ofUSS Sculpin.
From January 1969 to August 1971, Kelso served as Commanding Officer,Naval Nuclear Power School inUnited States Naval Training Center Bainbridge,Port Deposit,Maryland. Following tours included Commanding Officer,USS Finback; Staff of Commander, Submarine Force,United States Atlantic Fleet; and Commanding Officer,USS Bluefish. Kelso was then assigned as Executive Assistant to the Commander in Chief,United States Atlantic Command andAtlantic Fleet andSupreme Allied Commander Atlantic from September 1975 to July 1977.
Kelso served as Commander,Submarine Squadron 7 until reporting as Division Director, Submarine Distribution Division in theNaval Military Personnel Command, and Section Head of the Submarine Programs Section in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel and Training) in September 1978. He was selected for promotion to the rank ofrear admiral in February 1980.
Upon selection forflag rank, Kelso served as Director, Strategic Submarine Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and then was assigned as Director, Office of Program Appraisal, Office of theSecretary of the Navy. On February 8, 1985, Kelso became CommanderSixth Fleet andNATO Commander Naval Striking Force and Support Forces Southern Europe. During this tour, forces under his command launched raids on Libya in defiance of Colonel/PresidentMuammar Gaddafi's claim that Libya's territorial waters extended 200 miles into theGulf of Sidra. On June 30, 1986, Kelso was promoted to admiral and assumed the duties of Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet. Kelso became Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Command on November 22, 1988. In that capacity his forces were involved in the secondGulf of Sidra incident (1989). He succeeded AdmiralCarlisle A.H. Trost to become the Navy's 24thChief of Naval Operations (CNO) on June 29, 1990.[1]
Kelso attended the 1991Tailhook Association meeting inLas Vegas (his second time) at the urging of his senior aviation advisors to gain first-hand information from aviators who were part ofOperation Desert Storm following Iraq'sinvasion of Kuwait. In the months following this meeting, allegations of sexual harassment of hotel guests and other sexual misconduct on the part of naval aviators surfaced. Following several lengthy investigations, more than 100 aviators were implicated in overt acts of sexual misconduct. None werecourt-martialed, though over half of those implicated were informally disciplined and the careers of several senior officers were essentially ended.Secretary of the NavyLawrence Garrett ultimately resigned and Kelso was forced to retire two months early amid the scandal and aviator complaints that he had failed to ensure due process for accused personnel.[2] Nonetheless, the Navy and its leadership were roundly criticized for minor punishments handed out to a few officers. Kelso was succeeded as CNO by AdmiralJeremy M. Boorda on April 23, 1994.
Shortly before his retirement, SenatorBarbara Boxer attempted to punish Kelso by recommending areduction in rank from full admiral to rear admiral (upper half). All officer assignments of 2-star officers (O-8) and below is under the authority of the Service Secretary. However, all military assignments for flag/general officers to 3-star or 4-star rank are job specific and the approval to hold that position with its associated rank is approved by the Senate. These assignments to jobs above 2-stars are usually limited to 18-24 months unless re-nominated. This includes retirement with 3–star or 4-star rank, any retirement with a rank higher than 2-stars must be requested by the Service Secretary to the Senate. An example of this was the case of Pacific Fleet commanderHusband Kimmel following thePearl Harbor attack, who was reassigned to a position/job of 2-stars, thus losing his “temporary” assignment with 4-star status; another case wasRichard Dunleavy, Kelso's Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare, who was reassigned from his 3-star job to a 2-star job as a result of Tailhook. Boxer claimed Kelso was deserving of punishment on the grounds that as the Navy's top officer he bore ultimate responsibility for what happened at Tailhook. Boxer's attempt failed when more Senators agreed Kelso had taken the correct and proper actions in handling the affair, and he was allowed to retire at full rank. Kelso's supporters praised his overhaul of officer training that eliminated the separate Aviation Officer Candidate School atNAS Pensacola, Florida for non-United States Naval Academy and non-Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps college graduates that had traditionally set many naval aviators and naval flight officers apart from their other officer peers, and for tough new policies on sexual harassment.[3] Had Kelso been demoted, it would have been a significant loss in his military pension.
Kelso retired with his wife, Landess McCown Kelso (who died in 2012), to his place of birth in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 2003. He died from complications of a fall and severe head injury on June 23, 2013, inNorfolk, Virginia, where he had gone to attend his grandson's graduation. He had been married to his second wife, Georgia Robinson, for just two weeks. He was also survived by two sons (both of whom served in the Navy) and two daughters.[4]
Kelso's decorations and awards include:
 OfficerSubmarine Warfare insignia |
 .png) SilverSSBN Deterrent Patrol insignia with three gold stars |
 Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge |
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| OfficerSubmarine Warfare insignia | |||||||||||
| 1st Row | Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronzeoak leaf cluster[5] | Navy Distinguished Service Medal with three5⁄16" gold stars[5] | |||||||||
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| 2nd Row | Army Distinguished Service Medal[5] | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal[5] | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal[5] | ||||||||
| 3rd Row | Legion of Merit with three5⁄16" gold stars[5] | Meritorious Service Medal with one5⁄16" gold star | Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal | ||||||||
| 4th Row | Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal | Navy Unit Commendation w/ 2 bronzeservice stars | Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 1 service star | ||||||||
| 5th Row | Navy Expeditionary Medal w/ 1 service star | National Defense Service Medal with two3⁄16" service stars | Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon | ||||||||
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief of Naval Operations 1990–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Navy (acting) January 2 – July 21, 1993 | Succeeded by |
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