Christopher W. Grady, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Admiral Christopher W. Grady, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. He is a distinguished graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he served as a Foreign Service Fellow, and of the National War College.

A career Surface Warfare Officer, Admiral Grady served aboard USS Moosbrugger (DD 980) as combat information center and antisubmarine warfare officer. As a department head, he served as weapons control officer and combat systems officer aboard USS Princeton (CG 59). He later commanded Mine Countermeasures Rotational Crew Echo aboard USS Chief (MCM 14) and deployed to the Arabian Gulf in command of USS Ardent (MCM 12). He subsequently commanded USS Cole (DDG 67), deploying with NATO’s Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean. As commander of Destroyer Squadron 22, he deployed to the Arabian Gulf as sea combat commander for the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.

Ashore, Admiral Grady served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; as naval aide to the Chief of Naval Operations; as assistant branch head for Europe and Eurasia Politico-Military Affairs (OPNAV N524); as executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations; as executive assistant to the Chief of Legislative Affairs; and as deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council at the White House.

As a flag officer, Admiral Grady served as Director of Maritime Operations for U.S. Pacific Fleet and commanded Carrier Strike Group 1/Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, deploying for nearly ten months to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. He later served as Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic; Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO; and Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa. From 2018 to 2021, he served as Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and as Naval Component Commander to U.S. Northern and Strategic Commands.

On December 20, 2021, Admiral Grady was sworn in as the twelfth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He represents the Chairman on the National Security Council Deputies Committee, chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, co-chairs senior Department of Defense governance bodies, and serves as the senior military member of the Nuclear Weapons Council. He is currently the Navy’s “Old Salt,” its longest-serving Surface Warfare Officer on active duty.