James H. Doyle Jr.

Vice Admiral James Henry Doyle, Jr. USN
Third Fleet
Spouse(s)	Jeanette
Children	Kathleen, James III, and Anne
Relations	VADM James H. Doyle (father)

James Henry Doyle, Jr (27 March 1925 – 23 February 2018^[1]) was a vice admiral of the United States Navy, and the son of Vice Admiral James H. Doyle, USN.

Early years

Doyle was born in

unit was mobilized to guard the beaches against possible enemy landings.

After the family's evacuation to Berkeley, Doyle met his high school sweetheart, Jeannette Eleanor Blair. They were married on 5 June 1946.

Due to his disjointed schooling, Doyle needed a year of study at

by taking a competitive examination.

Navy career

Doyle entered the Naval Academy in June 1943, and graduated on 5 June 1946 in the Class of 1947, a three-year wartime training class that retained its four-year designation. He and Jeanette married later in the day, at the

.

Following a short period of training at Jacksonville, Florida, the newly-weds travelled to California for a month's leave, before Doyle left for Japan and service in the cruiser USS Chicago leaving his wife to complete her degree at Berkeley.

Doyle became the officer in charge of number three turret, with three eight-inch guns and around 30 sailors, as their

as the ship was inactivated.

He was then posted to

bursting overhead. His eldest daughter was born while he was on this deployment.

Legal training

Doyle took his father's example and wished to do legal training. He was allowed three years at George Washington University law school (1950–53) that coincided with the Korean War, in which his father was Commander of the Amphibious Forces during the invasion of Inchon with General Douglas MacArthur aboard the flagship, and also participated in the Hungnam evacuation and the blockade of Wonsan.

Among his professors at GWU was Dean of the school, Vice Admiral

(COMSUBPAC) 1948–49.

Doyle received a degree of Juris Doctor with distinction, did the Washington D.C. bar exam, and was admitted to practice in California.

First command

After completing a short course at the

. He saw the ship completed in the yard, and undertook the work-up and commissioning training and some deployments.

In June 1954, Doyle became

Sasebo, Japan

. During this period, the ship ran into the tail end of a typhoon and could only face into the swells and ride out the storm.

Between June 1957 to June 1959, Doyle served in the

Judge Advocate General

's International Law Division, in Washington. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander during this posting.

Hawaii

He was next posted in June 1959 as Executive Officer of the USS John S. McCain, a destroyer leader ASW/gun ship commissioned in 1953, the second of the Mitscher-class destroyers. It was based in Honolulu, Hawaii, but John S. McCain regularly deployed to the Western Pacific.

In July 1960, Doyle became personal aide and flag lieutenant to

, responsible for the Admiral’s personal communications, schedule, and trip arrangements. He spent two years there, and was promoted to Commander.

Doyle reported to the destroyer

occurred.

Nuclear training and service

While on a port visit to Subic Bay (Philippines) in John R. Craig, Doyle was ordered to Washington for interviews with Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, head of Naval Reactors. Doyle already had orders to command USS Preble, a Coontz-class anti-air missile ship mounting the RIM-2 Terrier. However, Doyle was selected for nuclear power training, first to the school for six months at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, then six months at the shore-based nuclear destroyer prototype power plant in West Milton, New York, completing training in June 1965.

With no nuclear ship CO positions available, Doyle was ordered to be the executive officer of the cruiser

Command.

Doyle was selected to command USS Bainbridge, but first had to pass the Nuclear Reactors "cram course" in Washington. On passing, Doyle was personally presented with a large paperweight which was engraved on one side, "Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small", and the other side, "Presented to Captain James H. Doyle, Jr., USN, by Vice Admiral H.G. Rickover, USN." He relieved Captain Hal Cushman Castle, in the Gulf of Tonkin in December 1966, spending almost four years in command.

In 1966-67, Bainbridge operated with

) to Subic Bay, at an average speed of 29.2 knots (54.1 km/h; 33.6 mph).

Doyle then oversaw the first refuelling of Bainbridge (September 1967 – July 1968) at Mare Island and the following inspection by Nuclear Reactors staff and Vice Admiral Rickover. During its next deployment, Bainbridge was accompanying Enterprise when that ship had a major fire onboard. For the 1970 deployment, Bainbridge again visited Australia, this time related to the bicentennial of Lieutenant James Cook's discovery landing on the east coast at Botany Bay on 29 April 1770.

Washington

Doyle then served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral Elmo Zumwalt) in the Program Planning and Budgeting Office. This was involved in the early considerations of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT 1) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM).

In 1971, Doyle was selected for

convened in New York in 1973.

Flag command

Following this, Doyle commanded

Cyprus

.

Doyle was then selected as Commander,

(later Commander) concept.

Op-03 role

In 1975, Doyle returned to the Pentagon as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Surface Warfare (Op-03), for what became a five year tenure, directing the development of plans and programs for all surface ships except aircraft carriers. During this time, USS Ticonderoga, featuring the first AEGIS radar and fire control system, was authorized in the 1977 budget, in light of a lack of political will to fund nuclear powered cruisers and destroyers.

Doyle's experience with nuclear operations meant that his suggestion for a systems approach to manning and training enabled the crew to be trained on the system as it was built, then commissioned by the crew rather than dockyard staff. This substantially shortened the time between the ship’s commissioning and operational readiness. It is arguably this approach that earned Doyle recognition when the shore-based AEGIS system development center, USS Rancocas in Moorestown, New Jersey, commissioned by Doyle and Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer (the "father of AEGIS") in 1977, was renamed the "Vice Admiral James H. Doyle, Jr. Combat System Engineering Development Site" (CSEDS) in May 2008.

Doyle's tenure also saw the requirements settled for the multi-mission Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, and Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler. Additionally, the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) ASW helicopter development, that became the SH-60B, was initiated by Op-03.

Doyle's wife, Jeanette, was the "

for service as Deputy CNO, Surface Warfare.

Post-Navy

The Doyles retired to their home in

.

Personal

Doyle and his wife Jeanette had three children, Kathleen, James III, and Anne.

Legacy

The Naval War College established the "Vice Admiral James H. Doyle, Jr., Military Operations and International Law Prizes."

References

• VADM James H Doyle Jr Archived 2018-10-23 at the Wayback Machine – Naval History Foundation interviews (1996–97) (Interviewer: Dr David Winkler)