Thomas B. Fargo

Admiral Thomas Boulton Fargo

His father, Thomas A. Boulton, was a naval officer who was killed in a plane crash in 1957. His mother, Helen, remarried in 1960 to Captain William Fargo, US Navy. Helen was a Lieutenant in the US Navy Nurse Corps during World War II; both Thomas and William graduated from the Naval Academy (Class of 1943 and Class of 1939, respectively.)[2]

Trained in joint, naval and

Ashore, Fargo served in the

While serving as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), Fargo informed the United States Congress of his plans to retire from the Navy. Although an Air Force flag officer was nominated to succeed him, the Senate declined to confirm the nominee, as it was customary to fill that post with a Navy flag officer. President Bush accordingly extended Fargo's mandatory retirement date. Fargo ultimately retired from military service in 2005, when the Senate confirmed Admiral William J. Fallon to succeed him as Commander of USPACOM.^{[citation needed]}

Admiral Fargo is a 1989 recipient of the

In 2010, the National Bureau of Asian Research appointed Fargo as the second holder of the Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies.^[4]

In 2019, Fargo became the 22nd chairman of USAA.^[5]

Awards and decorations

United States Pacific Command Badge

	award stars
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with 2 award stars
	Meritorious Service Medal with 2 award stars
	Navy Commendation Medal
	Navy Achievement Medal with award star
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
	Navy Unit Commendation
	Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Navy "E" Ribbon
	Navy Expeditionary Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal with service star
	Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two service stars
	Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
	Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (Military Division)

The Hunt for Red October

Admiral Fargo served as the inspiration for the character of Commander Bart Mancuso in the film The Hunt for Red October. Scott Glenn spent several days preparing for his role aboard the Salt Lake City. It was during this time that he decided to base his portrayal of his character on then-Commander Fargo.^[6]

Fargo had told Glenn, "I've given orders to all the men on board to treat you as equal rank with me so every time for the next few days while we are out, when someone comes up and reports to me, they are going to turn around and report to you, and I'm going to tell you what we are going to do about it. There may be once or twice that I'm going to ask you to go to your quarters when we are dealing with stuff that is top secret."^[7]

"Tom Fargo was a strong, tough commander, but he had a degree of relaxation and looseness that I never would have expected." – Scott Glenn.^[7]

"He was incredibly confident...he was this guy you would follow into hell." – Alec Baldwin.^[7]

Notes

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Navy.

• "Biography - Thomas B. Fargo, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command". Department of Defense. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
• Fargo, Tom (December 31, 2002). "Speech for the Retirement Ceremony of Sr. Chief Anderson". U.S. Pacific Command. Archived from the original on May 24, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas B. Fargo.

• Turning to the Pacific: U.S. Strategic Rebalancing toward Asia, coauthored by Thomas B. Fargo, Asia Policy (July 2012)
• The Military Foundations of U.S. Disaster Assistance in Japan Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Interview with Admiral Thomas Fargo on military aid to Japan following the 2011 earthquake
• Gorton Center Discussion Series Presents: Admiral Thomas Fargo, Audio podcast of a roundtable discussion with Admiral Thomas Fargo about U.S. defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific.