William J. Fallon

Infobox Military Person
name= William J. Fallon
born= Birth date and age|1944|12|30
died=
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption= Admiral William Fallon
nickname= Foxcite news
last = Levesque
first = William R.
title = With passing of flag, CentCom gets new leader
page = 11A
work = St. Petersburg Times
date = 2007-03-17
url = http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/17/Tampabay/With_passing_of_flag_.shtml
accessdate = 2008-03-12]
allegiance=flag|United States of America
branch= United States Navy
serviceyears= 1967 - 2008
rank= Admiral
commands=U.S. Central Command U.S. Pacific Command U.S. Fleet Forces Command Vice Chief of Naval Operations Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group Attack Squadron Sixty Five
unit=
battles=Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Deliberate Force (Bosnia) Vietnam War
awards=Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (4) Bronze Star Meritorious Service Medal (3)
laterwork=
portrayedby=

William Joseph Fallon, (born December 30 1944), was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy serving over 41 years. He served as Commander of the U.S. Central Command from March 2007 to March 2008. ADM Fallon was the first naval officer to hold that position. His other four-star assignments include Commander, U.S. Pacific Command from February 2005 to March 2007, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command from October 2003 to February 2005, and 31^st Vice Chief of Naval Operations from October 2000 to August 2003. On March 11, 2008, he announced his resignation from CENTCOM and retirement from active duty, citing administrative complications caused in part by an article in "Esquire Magazine," which described him as the only thing standing between the Bush Administration and war with Iran. On March 28th, Fallon's Deputy, United States Army Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey, took over as the acting commander. Army General David Petraeus was nominated to assume command on 23 April 2008 [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/23/petraeus/index.html Petraeus picked to lead Central Command - CNN.com ] ] .

Early life

Fallon was born in East Orange, New Jersey and raised in Merchantville, New Jersey.cite news
url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/world/middleeast/08fallon.html
last= Shanker
first= Thom
title= Adm. William J. Fallon: An Experienced Naval Officer, and a Diplomat
work= The New York Times
date= 2007-01-08
accessdate= 2008-03-12] He earned a diploma from Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. [cite news
last= Martin
first= Susan Taylor
url= http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/14/Worldandnation/From_facilitator_to_w.shtml
title= From facilitator to warrior
work= St. Petersburg Times
quote= Tall and lean, Fallon ran on the track team at Camden Catholic High.
date= 2007-01-14
accessdate= 2008-03-12] A 1967 graduate of Villanova University, he received his commission through the Navy ROTC Program and was designated a Naval Flight Officer upon completion of flight training in December 1967.

Fallon is a graduate of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, and the National War College in Washington, D.C. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Studies from Old Dominion University.

Military service

Fallon began his Naval Aviation career flying in the RA-5C Vigilante with a combat deployment to Vietnam, transitioning to the A-6 Intruder in 1974. He served in flying assignments with Attack Squadrons and Carrier air wings for twenty-four years, deploying to the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans embarked in USS|Saratoga|CV-60, USS|Ranger|CV-61, USS|Nimitz|CVN-68, USS|Dwight D. Eisenhower|CVN-69 and USS|Theodore Roosevelt|CVN-71. He has logged more than 1,300 carrier arrested landings and 4,800 flight hours in tactical jet aircraft.

Fallon commanded Attack Squadron 65 ("The World Famous Fighting Tigers"), embarked in "Dwight D. Eisenhower", Medium Attack Wing One at NAS Oceana, Va., and Carrier Air Wing Eight in "Theodore Roosevelt" during a combat deployment to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Assigned as Commander, Carrier Group Eight in 1995, he deployed to the Mediterranean as Commander, "Theodore Roosevelt" Battle Group and commanded Battle Force Sixth Fleet (CTF 60) during NATO’s combat Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia. Adm. Fallon served as Commander, Second Fleet and Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic from November 1997 to September 2000.

Shore duties included assignment as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander, Fleet Air Jacksonville, and to the staffs of Commander, Reconnaissance Attack Wing One; Commander, Operational Test Force, and Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He has served as Deputy Director for Operations, Joint Task Force, Southwest Asia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as Deputy Director, Aviation Plans and Requirements on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. His first flag officer assignment was with NATO as Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy for Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. He was then assigned as Deputy and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Fleet followed by assignment as Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Command. Nominated for his fourth star, he became the 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations in October 2000.

In February 2001, while serving as Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Fallon was sent to Japan as a Presidential Special Envoy to apologize for the submarine USS|Greeneville|SSN-772's collision with the Ehime Maru.

In 2002 he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Committee that the military should be exempted from certain environmental laws because the laws impacted the military's ability to conduct operations at its bases.

He was then nominated and confirmed for assignment as the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet from October 2003 to February 2005. Following that, he was Commander, Pacific Command from February 2005 until March 2007; his assignment was his third four star assignment -- a rarity for military officers.

During his tenure as head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Fallon took a conciliatory approach towards China, a position that drew the ire of hardliners including "Washington Times" reporter Bill Gertz.

United States Central Command

On January 4, 2007, President Bush nominated Fallon for his fourth four-star command to replace John Abizaid, who was retiring from the U.S. Army, as Commander of the United States Central Command, (CENTCOM). [cite news
url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/01/replacements_fo.html
title=Replacements for Generals Abizaid and Casey
work= Blogs: Political Radar
date=2007-01-04
first=Martha
last=Raddatz
publisher=ABC News
accessdate= 2008-03-12]

The United States Senate confirmed Admiral Fallon as the first Navy admiral to command CENTCOM on February 7.cite news
url= http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/apfallon070208/
last= Flaherty
first= Anne
date= 2007-02-08
title= Senate confirms Fallon for CentCom chief
work= Army Times
publisher= Associated Press
accessdate= 2008-03-12] [cite news
last = Phillips
first = Kyra
title = U.S. Commander: No civil war in Iraq
work = Iraq: Transition of Power
publisher = CNN
date = 2007-03-27
url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/27/iraq.centcom/index.html
accessdate= 2008-03-12] He relieved General Abizaid on 16 March 2007.

As combatant commander of Central Command, Fallon was David Petraeus's superior officer who was at that time the commander of Multinational Force Iraq. Petraeus will succeed Fallon as CENTCOM commander on October 31, 2008.

As CENTCOM commander, Fallon has often criticized Iran, while also encouraging negotiations. On May 28, 2007, he noted that the United States would continue to have a military presence in the Middle East, despite Iran wishing otherwise. However, he also said, "We have to figure out a way to come to an arrangement with them [Iran] ". [cite news
url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-05-28-fallon-iran_N.htm
title=Adm. Fallon: Iran can't be ignored
work=USA Today
date=2007-05-28
accessdate= 2008-03-12] In an Al-Jazeera broadcast on September 30, 2007, he criticized those publicly urging war, stating "This constant drum beat of conflict is what strikes me which is not helpful and not useful. [...] I expect that there will be no war and that is what we ought to be working for." He also stated that Iran was not as strong as it claimed, "Not militarily, economically or politically." [cite news
url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-29-182188295_x.htm
title=Nervous Gulf Hears Calmer Tones on Iran
work=USA Today
first= Brian
last= Murphy
publisher= Associated Press
date=2007-09-29
accessdate= 2008-03-12]

On March 11, 2008 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the resignation of Fallon as CentCom Commander. He stated that Fallon's reason for resigning centered on the controversy regarding a recent article in "Esquire" magazine [cite news
url= http://www.esquire.com/features/fox-fallon
work= Esquire
date= 2008-03-11
title= The Man Between War and Peace
first= Thomas P.M.
last= Barnett
accessdate= 2008-03-12] which depicted him as openly criticizing the current Bush administration [cite news
url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4TCb3GE9GQnVpZaWHA-cPBpbwmwD8VBDRV80
title=Fallon Resigns As Mideast Military Chief
publisher=Associated Press
date=2008-03-11
accessdate=2008-03-12] with specific regard to American policy towards Iran. [cite news
url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7290826.stm
title= US Mid-East commander steps down
work= BBC News
date= 2008-03-12
accessdate= 2008-03-12] [cite news
url=http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/esquire-story-curtails-fallons-storied-career
last=Hansen
first=Louis
title=Interview: How Fallon's storied Navy career was curtailed
work=The Virginian-Pilot
date=2008-04-18
accessdate= 2008-04-20]

After his widely publicized resignation, interpreted as opposition to military action against Iran, the conservative "The Washington Times" countered with a report that Fallon's active and retired military critics believed that he was "pushed to resign" by higher officials because "he failed to prevent foreign fighters and munitions from entering Iraq". [cite news
url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/NATION/442198655/1001
work= The Washington Times
date= 2008-03-13
title= Warriors welcome Fallon's resignation
first= Sara
last= Carter
accessdate= 2008-03-13]

Post service life

Fallon will join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for International Studies as a Robert Wilhelm Fellow for nine months, starting August 2008. He will collaborate with the MIT community in research, seminars, conferences and other intellectual projects. [ [http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/fallon-0619.html Ex-CENTCOM commander joins MIT Center for International Studies - MIT News Office ] ] .

Awards and decorations

His awards include:
*Various unit and campaign decorations

Notes

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/423/index.html PBS NOW Interview with Admiral Fallon]
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/fallon_bio.html Official biography on Armed Forces Information Services]
* [http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/robertgatesonwilliamfallonretirement.htm Text, Audio, Video of Robert Gates' Press Conference on the Retirement of Admiral Fallon] from AmericanRhetoric.com