Benjamin Thurman Hacker - Naval Service

Naval Service

After completing the Navy's Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida in September 1958, Hacker was commissioned Ensign and subsequently received the designation of Naval Aviation Observer (NAO). Hacker gained experience as a Navigator and Tactical Coordinator in SP-2H "Neptune" and P-3C "Orion" aircraft through numerous operational assignments in the far reaches of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Mediterranean Sea.

He took command of the U.S. Naval Facility, Barbados, West Indies on July 2, 1968. In 1972 he established the Naval ROTC Unit at Florida A & M University, in Tallahassee, Florida and served as the first Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science of this unit. In 1974 he became Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron TWENTY-FOUR (VP-24), a P-3C "Orion" Squadron stationed in Jacksonville, Florida and was promoted to Captain following his squadron command tour.

In June 1978 he completed studies in National Security Policy at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and earned a Masters of Science Degree in Administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In August 1978 he was assigned as Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine.

In 1980 then-Captain Hacker was selected for promotion to Rear Admiral and assumed duties as Commander, U.S. Military Enlistment Processing Command with headquarters in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In 1982 he became Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean; Commander Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Forces, U.S. Sixth Fleet; and Commander Maritime Air Forces Mediterranean simultaneously with headquarters in Naples Italy. In 1986 he was assigned as Commander, Naval Training Center, San Diego. During this assignment he was also assigned Commander, Naval Base San Diego. He held both commands simultaneously for several months. In 1988, at the completion of his assignment as Commander, Naval Base San Diego, Rear Admiral Hacker retired from the U.S. Navy.

Rear Admiral Hacker was the first Naval Flight Officer (NFO) to be selected for Flag rank in the United States Navy. He held ten commands over the course of his 30-year military career. Included among Rear Admiral Hacker's personal decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with three Gold Stars, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

On November 3, 2005 the "Commander, Task Force 67" headquarters building located in Sigonella, Sicily was dedicated in his honor.