Richard G. Colbert

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Richard G. Colbert
Joint Service Commendation Medal

Richard Gary Colbert (February 12, 1915 – December 2, 1973) was a

NATO forces in southern Europe from 1972 to 1973. He was nicknamed "Mr. International Navy" as one of the very few senior admirals in the U.S. Navy identified with international naval cooperation during the Cold War.[1]

Early career

Born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before being appointed to the United States Naval Academy by Congressman Harry A. Estep in 1933. He graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1937 as one of the four midshipmen officers appointed to command a battalion of the Naval Academy regiment for that academic year, with a class rank of 247/331.[2][3][4]

World War II

USS Meade (DD-602)

Commissioned ensign, he served aboard the aircraft carrier

Barker in the Asiatic Fleet. He remained aboard Barker for the next five years, rising from junior ensign to lieutenant commander and commanding officer.[2]

Following the Japanese

Core.[5]

In 1944, he assumed command of the destroyer

Tonkin Gulf coastal areas to assist French forces in combating Chinese pirates off Haiphong. Promoted to commander, Colbert spent the next two and a half years as personnel planning officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, where he helped plan the postwar naval reserve and served as a social aide in the White House.[2][6][7]

Postwar

In June 1948 he was sent to

U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (CINCNELM).[8] A superb negotiator, Conolly left a deep impression on Colbert, whose later work on international naval cooperation would be founded on the lessons he learned by watching Conolly interact with allied naval leaders.[2] When Conolly's tour as CINCNELM ended in December 1950, Colbert briefly accompanied Conolly to the admiral's new posting as president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.[9]

Colbert's next assignment was in the Politico-Military Affairs Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OP-35), where he helped establish the naval commands in the newly created NATO alliance and quickly developed a reputation for familiarity with allied problems and ability to deal with foreign governments. In 1951, Chief of Naval Operations Forrest P. Sherman selected Colbert to be his aide later in the year, in the meantime tapping Colbert for temporary duty as Sherman's special assistant during overseas trips. In July 1951, Colbert accompanied Sherman to Spain to negotiate naval basing with General Francisco Franco. Shortly after the meeting, Sherman suddenly died of a heart attack. With no written record of Sherman's conversations with Franco, it fell to Colbert to debrief the late admiral's negotiations to the Navy Department and other government agencies.[2][9]

From 1953 to 1955, Colbert was executive officer of the heavy cruiser Albany, which served as flagship for Commander, Battleship-Cruiser Force, Atlantic, and was deployed to the Mediterranean. Vice Admiral Robert H. Rice, his former commanding officer, remembered Colbert as "the best executive officer any ship had had (or the good fortune to have)."[2]

Promoted to captain in 1955, Colbert was offered a choice between assignment as head of an academic section at the Naval Academy or as a student at the Naval War College. On Conolly's advice, Colbert opted for the Naval War College and was enrolled in the naval warfare 1 course.[2] By January 1956 he had been selected to remain for a second academic year as a student in the naval warfare 2 course,[10] but was reassigned that spring to become the first director of a new Naval War College course for international naval officers.[8]

Naval command course

Students and staff of the first naval command course, September 8, 1956. Colbert is second from right in back row.

In the spring of 1956, Chief of Naval Operations

Arleigh A. Burke assigned Colbert to organize and direct a new course at the Naval War College for senior naval officers from allied and friendly nations. Said Burke, "I had already learned that the CNO could not just give an order and expect to have it carried out. He had to get somebody who was in agreement with the project, who was just as enthusiastic about it, who was capable of running it without supervision, who could get things done, and who could use the authority delegated him wisely to take charge of the project. That man was Dick Colbert."[10]

During his tour in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Colbert had worked closely with Burke as one of Burke's action officers when Burke was director of the Plans Division, and Burke remembered Colbert's unusual competence in international relations.[10] Moreover, during that tour Colbert had actually written a brief staff study on the best way to educate foreign naval officers at Navy service schools without compromising either national security or the level of their instruction.[11] Based on that four-year-old study, Colbert spent the summer of 1956 preparing for the arrival of students from up to 30 countries in August.[8][10] To avoid using the word "foreign", he selected the title "Naval Command Course for Free World Naval Officers."[2]

Colbert served as director of the naval command course for its first two classes. Students generally attended the regular Naval War College lectures for the naval warfare 1 course, and took field trips during lectures dealing with classified topics such as nuclear operations. Colbert leveraged his extensive personal contacts to arrange visits to military and naval sites, as well as industrial plants in Buffalo, New York, and the New York Stock Exchange.[10] Colbert and his wife also spent a considerable amount of their own money to organize social events to foster lasting informal ties between students, whose personal bonding was viewed as almost as important as the formal curriculum. Colbert was impressed by the high quality of the inaugural class, writing, "The capability of the students is far beyond our expectations—they really look like the 'future CNO's of the Free World' as Admiral Burke describes them."[2]

Major command

After three years at the Naval War College, Colbert was assigned to the Long Range Plans and Basic War Plans Branch of the

vertical replenishment of supplies for ships at sea.[2]

USS Boston (CAG-1)

Selected for major command, Colbert requested "a cruiser out of

Boston from October 1961 to February 1963.[12] During his tour, Boston deployed to the Mediterranean and briefly hosted the commander of the Sixth Fleet, Vice Admiral David L. McDonald, who recalled that "Colbert and his crew in the Boston went out of their way to make their ship a most outstanding flagship."[10]

While commanding Boston, Colbert applied for one of the two military billets on the

Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., "pulled the necessary levers."[2]

During his time on the PPC, Colbert worked on topics ranging from the

Joint Service Commendation Medal.[13]

Flag officer

In June 1964 he was assigned as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 6 (COMCRUDESFLOT SIX), based in Charleston, South Carolina, and assumed command in 1965. With about fifty ships under his command, the position was equivalent to being commander in chief of a small navy.[2][3]

From June 1966 to August 1968 he served as deputy chief of staff and assistant chief of staff for policy, plans and operations to Admiral

Thomas H. Moorer, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT), for which he received the Legion of Merit.[14] His first assignment on the SACLANT staff was to establish Iberian Atlantic Command (IBERLANT), a Portuguese-led command responsible for covering the sea approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar. Said Moorer, "This action not only significantly enhanced the capability of NATO to deal with naval operations in the area, but also significantly increased the morale, prestige and overall interest of the Portuguese allies. I give Admiral Colbert all of the credit for this important move."[2]

In late November 1966, Colbert prepared a concept paper proposing a permanent SACLANT naval contingency force based on Operation Matchmaker, an annual six-month exercising involving ships from allied navies. The proposed contingency force was approved by NATO in December 1967 and activated in January 1968 as

Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT).[2]

President of the Naval War College

As President of the Naval War College (second from left), with superintendents of the Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, 1969.

In July 1968, Colbert was unexpectedly selected to be President of the Naval War College and promoted to vice admiral ahead of ten classmates.[2] He replaced Vice Admiral John T. Hayward, who had specifically recommended Colbert as his ideal successor. As a relatively young rear admiral who was expected to rise much further in the Navy after his presidency, Colbert's appointment broke the postwar tradition of selecting an "elder statesman" on the verge of retirement.[10] A pleased Colbert remarked, "It is a dream come true—a dream that I would never have mentioned to anyone, for fear of being precocious."[2]

During his presidency, which lasted from August 30, 1968, until August 17, 1971,

John O. Pastore to secure congressional funding for new student housing and other construction projects. In collaboration with sculptor Felix de Weldon and National Gallery of Art director J. Carter Brown, he completed the design of three new buildings—Spruance Hall, Conolly Hall, and Hewitt Hall—for which he arranged to reopen the old quarry in Medford, Massachusetts, to obtain the same granite that had been used to construct the adjacent buildings, so that the new buildings would eventually weather to the same color.[8][10]

Other lasting contributions included the creation of the Naval War College Foundation; the Naval Staff College, an international program for middle-grade officers; and the International Seapower Symposium, a biennial conference for international flag officers whose first meeting, hosted at the Naval War College in 1969, was attended by chiefs of naval staff and senior officers from 37 navies.[10][16][17]

Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe

Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

After leaving the Naval War College in June 1971, Colbert spent a year as SACLANT chief of staff before being promoted to full admiral and appointed Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH) in June 1972.[18]

As CINCSOUTH, Colbert's principal concern was to reduce the tension between

Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. rated Colbert "one of our most outstanding NATO commanders" due to the decades-long personal relationships he maintained with the alumni of the naval command course, many of whom had become high-ranking flag officers in their respective navies.[19] Zumwalt dubbed Colbert "Mr. International Navy" for his reputation as one of the very few senior admirals in the U.S. Navy identified with international naval cooperation.[1]

In early 1973 Colbert was diagnosed with cancer and was operated on unsuccessfully. Realizing his illness was terminal, he secured Zumwalt's permission to return to his command and serve as long as he could.[19] "I am a realist and know that I am on borrowed time," Colbert wrote his chaplain. "I am convinced that the Lord has decided to give me some extra time to do some things in this, my last command, which might better insure a safer world. That is the gist of my prayers. All I ask is just a bit more time to carry on and establish some concepts—multinational NATO forces which will strengthen our Free World against what I am convinced is a desperate threat, despite all the talk of détente."[2]

Colbert was succeeded as CINCSOUTH by Admiral

Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland on December 2, 1973, at the age of 58,[21] and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Pighini, commander of Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe, eulogized Colbert as "a man dedicated to his duty till the last breath of life."[2]

In his memoirs, Zumwalt wrote admiringly of Colbert's last days:

He performed magnificently throughout his final months and readily agreed to return home when it became apparent that the end was approaching. Within a week from the time he marched proudly off the plane at

Bethesda Naval Hospital during which he instructed me carefully on all the things he wanted me to carry on for him in the NATO command and finally asked me whether or not there was anything more that he could do to help me, Admiral Richard Colbert died, loved and mourned."[19]

Personal life

Colbert married the former Prudence Anne Robertson, daughter of the chairman of The London Express Newspapers Company, on November 15, 1950, in

St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, London, and they had one daughter and three sons.[2][7][22]

Adm. Colbert's decorations include the

Joint Service Commendation Medal, awarded for his service on the Policy Planning Council of the State Department; and the Legion of Merit, awarded for his service as SACLANT deputy chief of staff.[16]

The Admiral Richard G. Colbert Memorial Prize is a cash prize sponsored by the Naval War College Foundation and awarded to the student composing the best essay focusing on a strategic, military, political, economic, legal, or tactical aspect of an appropriate professional topic.[23]

Awards

  • Distinguished Service Medal
    (two awards)
  • Legion of Merit
  • Joint Service Commendation Medal

References

  1. ^ a b Hattendorf, pp. 109–110 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Hattendorf, pp. 110–130 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ a b Who's Who In America, p. 610
  4. ^ "Nebraskan Chosen To Head Midshipmen: Ralph Kissinger Jr. Is Made Regimental Commander – New Yorkers Get Posts", The New York Times, March 22, 1937
  5. ^ "Barker", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center
  6. ^ "62 Chinese Pirates Slain Off Tongking", Associated Press, September 29, 1945
  7. ^ a b "Adm. Richard Colbert, Who Led Southern Europe Forces, Dies", The New York Times, December 4, 1973
  8. ^ a b c d Wyld, pp. 44, 123 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ a b Sokolsky, pp. 5–7 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hattendorf; Simpson; Wadleigh, pp. 232–233, 263–270 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Sokolsky, pp. 9–15
  12. ^ USS Boston: The Captain's Cabin
  13. ^ Sokolsky, pp. 17–21
  14. ^ Sokolsky, p. 23
  15. ^ United States Naval War College: NWC Past Presidents Archived 2007-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ a b Sokolsky, pp. xv–xvii {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ "United States Naval War College: NWC History". Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  18. ^ Commander in Chief US Allied Forces Southern Europe – Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy
  19. ^ a b c Zumwalt, pp. 141–142 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ "Adm. R.G. Colbert, Ailing, Will Retire", Newport Daily News, p. 9, November 8, 1973
  21. ^ Hailey, Jean R. (December 4, 1973), "Adm. Richard G. Colbert Dies", The Washington Post, p. C8
  22. ^ "Miss Robertson's Plans; She Will Be Wed Today in London to Comdr. R.G. Colbert", The New York Times, November 14, 1950
  23. ^ Naval War College Student Handbook: Academic Year 2006–2007 (PDF), p. 16, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-05

Sources

  • Hattendorf, John B. (Summer 2008), "Admiral Richard G. Colbert: Pioneer in Building Global Maritime Partnerships" (PDF), Naval War College Review, vol. 61, no. 3[permanent dead link]
  • Hattendorf, John B.; Simpson, B. Mitchell III; Wadleigh, John R. (1984), Sailors and Scholars – The Centennial History of the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press
  • Sokolsky, Joel J. (1991), The Fraternity of the Blue Uniform: Admiral Richard G. Colbert, U.S. Navy and Allied Naval Cooperation, Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press
  • Who's Who In America, vol. 37, Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1972–1973
  • Wyld, Lionel D. (1999), The Naval War College, Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing
  • Zumwalt, Elmo R. Jr. (1976), On Watch: A Memoir, New York City, New York: The New York Times Book Company


Military offices
Preceded by President of the Naval War College
August 30, 1968–August 17, 1971 		Succeeded by
Benedict J. Semmes, Jr.
Preceded by
Horacio Rivero
 Commander in Chief,
Allied Forces Southern Europe

June 1972–November 1973 		Succeeded by
Means Johnston, Jr.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_G._Colbert&oldid=1183208260"