Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ‘77 nominated for top Pentagon post

President Barack Obama has nominated Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ‘77 to serve as director of the Joint Staff, a position that will have him answering directly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon.

After confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Gortney, who studied history and political science at Elon, will assist in managing the joint staff under Adm. Mike Mullen. Gortney is currently serving as commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in Central Command, and as commander of the 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

According to a bio of Gortney on the Navy’s Web site, U.S. Naval Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces is Gortney’s third command tour in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, supporting maritime security and combat operations for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

He is a 1996 graduate of the Naval War College, earning a Master of Arts in International Security Affairs. Gortney has flown over 5,360 mishap free flight hours and 1,265 carrier-arrested landings, primarily in the A-7E Corsair II and the FA-18 Hornet.