Huntington Hardisty

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Admiral Huntington Hardisty

Huntington "Hunt" Hardisty (born February 3, 1929 , † October 1, 2003 in Hartford , Connecticut ) was an American admiral in the US Navy , from 1987 to 1988 Vice Chief of Naval Operations and from 1988 to 1991 Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command was.

On August 28, 1961, Hardisty set a world record with the highest speed at the lowest altitude ever. He flew as a test pilot a fighter aircraft of the type McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II on the training and testing ground White Sands Missile Range at a speed of 900 mph (1,448.4 kilometers per hour) at an altitude of 300 feet (91 , 44 meters) over a distance of three kilometers. This world record lasted for 16 years until 1977.

Life

Military training and world speed record in 1961

With a fighter aircraft of the type McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Hardisty set a world speed record on August 28, 1961

Hardisty began studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after attending high school , renouncing a contract as a player in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs . In 1948, however, he began his military training at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis , which he graduated in 1952. Immediately after his promotion to lieutenant in the sea , he began training as a naval aviator in 1952, which he completed in 1953 with the pilot's badge (Naval Aviator Badge) .

Subsequently, he was employed as a naval aviator in the 12th Combat Squadron (Fighter Squadron 12) and later in the 22nd, 101st and 102nd Combat Squadron, before becoming a test pilot for special weapons projects for the Naval Air Special Weapons Facility on the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque .

On August 28, 1961, Lieutenant Hardisty, together with his radar navigation officer, Lieutenant Earl De Esch, set a world record with the highest speed at the lowest altitude ever. As a test pilot, he flew a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft on the White Sands Missile Range training and testing area at a speed of around 900 miles per hour (maximum speed 902.76 miles per hour, which corresponds to 1,448.4 kilometers per hour) at an altitude of 300 feet (91.44 meters) over a distance of three kilometers. This world record lasted for 16 years until 1977. For this achievement he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross .

Vietnam War period

Hardisty was the last in command of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany until the ship was decommissioned on May 15, 1976

Hardisty then began postgraduate studies in international relations at Harvard University , which he completed in 1964 with a Master of Science (M.Sc.). Following uses followed aboard the aircraft carrier USS America added, and was there first, flight operations officer and later commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the 32nd combat squadron. Then he was an officer for air operations in the carrier battle groups (Carrier Strike Force) of the US 7th Fleet ( US Seventh Fleet ) , and then as an officer for special plans and air operations in Southeast Asia in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations .

On July 23, 1971, Frigate Captain Hardisty was commander of the 11th Carrier Air Wing Eleven stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War and remained in this role until May 8, 1972. He was in charge between February and May May 1972 various attacks against positions of the North Vietnamese People's Army and received the Legion of Merit for the first time . On April 16, 1972, he led the deployment of a force of 36 combat aircraft against the strategically important naval base and the port facilities of Hải Phòng . In spite of considerable air defense , the association succeeded, as evidenced by the subsequent aerial photo analysis, in damaging the target area considerably, in particular in destroying eight large department stores. He was also awarded the Silver Star for his services on this mission .

After completing his mission in Vietnam, he returned on May 8, 1972 after Washington, DC and became Administrative Assistant to the Director of Marine programming in the US Department of the Navy ( US Department of the Navy ) . After that, Captain Hardisty on 26 September 1973 as a successor to Captain Donald Edsel Moore commander of the USS Savannah appointed a replenishment oiler of Wichita class . He remained in this post until December 4, 1974, when he was replaced by Captain Richard Peter “Deke” Bordone. He himself then became the commander of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany and held this command until the ship was decommissioned on May 15, 1976.

Flag officer

As Rear Admiral Hardisty was among other commander of US Naval Base Subic Bay , which until the early 1990s largest US - naval base in Asia to the Philippines

In 1976 Hardisty moved to the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport , where he initially took on the role of Academic Dean (Dean of Academics) . As such, he was also Deputy President of the NWC and after the resignation of the President, Vice Admiral Julien J. LeBourgeois , initially held the function of President before he became 39th President of Naval War College after his promotion to Rear Admiral on April 1, 1977 has been. He held this position until October 13, 1977 and was then replaced by Vice Admiral James Stockdale . He had the shortest tenure as president in the history of the NWC. For these services, the Legion of Merit was again awarded.

After that Hardisty was in 1977 commander of the November US Naval Base Subic Bay , which until the early 1990s largest US - naval base in Asia to the Philippines . In this role he was also the representative of the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command in the Philippines and commander of the US naval forces in the Philippines. As commander in the Western Pacific, he was responsible for supporting the 7th US Fleet and worked on the Philippine Mutual Defense Board with the leadership of the armed forces of the Philippines . For this he again received the Legion of Merit as recognition.

After attending a course for ship material and commitment of staff and flag officers in Idaho Falls in December 1979, he was in May 1980. Commander of the 7th Flugzeugträggruppe (Carrier Group 7) , from which in July 1981, the carrier battle groups (Carrier Strike Force 7) of 7th US fleet, of which he was commander. For his services there in improving operational readiness, tactical procedures and logistical coordination, he was once again awarded the Legion of Merit.

In July 1982, Rear Admiral Hardisty took over the role as Deputy Chief of Staff for planning and operations of the US Pacific Fleet ( US Pacific Fleet ) at the naval base Pearl Harbor . During this time he dealt with the improvement of the operational organization, the warfare knowledge and the training possibilities. In addition, he campaigned for the introduction and supervision of the fleet monitoring systems, the operational stationing of Tomahawk missiles , expanded electronic warfare capacities, improvement of the training and exercise units of the battleship commanders and was again honored with the Legion of Merit for these achievements and services.

He then returned to Washington, DC, in July 1983, where he was initially assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for planning, policy and operations, and as such was promoted to Vice Admiral. In June 1984 Vice Admiral Hardisty took over the office of Director of Operations and Organization at the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS ) and held this position until January 1986. During this time he advised the United Chiefs of Staff and the highest command institutions of the US Armed Forces in international crises such as the hijacking of Trans-World Airlines Flight 847 on June 14, 1985, the hijacking of Achille Lauro on October 7, 1985. For these For merit, he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal . In January 1986 he became Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff in the US Pacific Fleet.

US Navy Admiral

In March 1987, Hardisty was promoted to Admiral and succeeded Admiral Ronald J. Hays as Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He held the second highest function within the leadership of the US Navy after the Chief of Naval Operations. He held this office until August 1988 and was then replaced by Admiral James B. Busey IV . He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments in this service .

On September 30, 1988 Admiral Hardisty was again successor to Admiral Hays and now followed this as Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command. He was thus commander in chief of this cross -armed regional command of the US armed forces and responsible for the Pacific and Southeast Asian region. He was also awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his achievements there. After retiring from the military, Admiral Charles R. Larson succeeded him on March 1, 1991 as Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command.

During a hearing in the US Congress in February 1990, he declared the importance and importance of US forces stationed in Asia as a "proven deterrent to North Korea's adventure". As part of this hearing, he also dealt with the relocation of the US forces stationed in the Philippines after the expiry of the lease for the naval base in Subic Bay . In addition, he stated that there was potential on the islands of Guam , Saipan and Tinian , but Guam could not commence the complete move, so other alternatives must be looked for. In this capacity he also advised General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. during the Second Gulf War .

On May 25, 1989, Hardisty received the Gray Eagles Trophy , a 1960 donated by aircraft manufacturer Chance Vought Aircraft award for naval aviators with the longest active service. He took over the award from Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn and presented the award to Vice Admiral Jerome L. Johnson upon retirement from active service on March 1, 1991 . He also worked in 1990 as a technical consultant on the production of the film The Hunt for Red October (Original title: The Hunt for Red October ) by John McTiernan with Sean Connery , Alec Baldwin and Scott Glenn with.

Private sector and defense advisor

Huntington Hardisty headstone in Arlington National Cemetery

After retiring from active military service, he was a board member of several companies and, among other things, also chairman of the board of the Bloomfield, Connecticut- based aircraft manufacturer Kaman Aerospace International . He also worked as a consultant on defense issues such as an employee of the Center for Naval Analyzes and the government of the Republic of China . As a member of a panel of experts (Gulf War Air Power Survey Review Committee) headed by Paul Nitze , he also looked at the experiences of the Second Gulf War. This committee included former Generals Michael J. Dugan and Maxwell R. Thurman , historian Bernard Lewis , foreign policy expert Andrew W. Marshall , diplomat Philip Merrill , academic Henry Rowen , Democratic Congressman from Missouri Ike Skelton, and the Political scientist James Q. Wilson .

Furthermore, he became a member of a working group set up by the US Department of Defense for the operational readiness of the armed forces in 1993, chaired by former General Edward C. Meyer . Other members of the working group were former generals and admirals Julius W. Becton, Jr. , Robert LJ Long , Herbert R. Temple, Jr. , Maxwell R. Thurman, and Joseph J. Went .

After his death, Hardisty was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Low-Level Speed-Record , in: Popular Science , December 1961, p. 49
  2. ^ Robert V. Brulle: Engineering the Space Age: A Rocket Scientist Remembers , 2009, p. 188
  3. ↑ Commanding Officers of the USS Savannah (AOR-4) ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (NavSource Online)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.navsource.org
  4. ^ Naval War College Illustrated History and Guide , pp.
  5. ↑ Chief of Naval Operations on the homepage of the Naval History and Heritage Command
  6. ↑ Cynthia Ann Watson: Combatant Commands: Origins, Structure, and Engagements , 2011, p. 32
  7. ^ Doug Bandow, Ted Galen Carpenter (editor): The US-South Korean Alliance: Time for a Change , 1992, p. 38
  8. ^ Roy H. Smith: The Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement: After Mururoa , 1997, p. 102
  9. ↑ Marvin Pokrant: Desert Shield at Sea: What the Navy Really Did , 1999, p 9
  10. ↑ Gray Eagles on the Naval History and Heritage Command homepage
  11. ↑ Mother Jones Magazine , November / December 1998, p. 60
  12. ↑ Ken Silverstein, Daniel Burton-Rose: Private Warriors , 2000, p. 193
  13. ^ Gulf War Air Power Survey, V. 3: Logistics and Support , 1993, p. IV
  14. ^ Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Readiness
personal data
SURNAME Hardisty, Huntington
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hunt Hardisty (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American admiral in the US Navy
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1929
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 2003
Place of death Hartford , Connecticut