Flag Officer
Promoted to rear admiral in 1921, he served as a member of the General Board before being sent to sea in 1922 as commander of Battleship Division Three, Battleship Divisions, Battle Fleet. He was assistant chief of naval operations from 1923 to 1925.
On October 5, 1925, he was promoted to the temporary rank of vice admiral as Commander Battleship Divisions, Battle Fleet. The following year, he "fleeted up" to Commander in Chief, Battle Fleet, relieving Admiral Charles F. Hughes on September 4, 1926 and advancing to the temporary rank of full admiral. His tour as Battle Fleet commander was marked by innovations in naval air tactics, including the invention of divebombing, under Jackson's subordinate, Captain Joseph M. Reeves, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Langley; and by Fleet Problem VII, the annual fleet exercise, whose highlight was Langley's successful air raid on the Panama Canal.
Completing his tour as Battle Fleet commander on September 10, 1927, Jackson was relieved by Admiral Louis R. de Steiguer and reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral and shore duty as a member of the General Board. In December, he was appointed to head the court of inquiry into the sinking of the submarine S-4. He remained on the General Board until he retired in 1930 upon reaching the statutory age of 64.
In retirement, Jackson resided in Pearl City, Hawaii, where, on December 7, 1941, he observed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor from his front doorstep. His eye-witness account was enclosed in the official after action report sent to the Navy Department by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz on February 15, 1942. In July 1942, Jackson was advanced to admiral on the retired list by a new law that allowed each officer to retire in the highest rank in which he had served.
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Famous quotes containing the words flag and/or officer:
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“That’s all right, sir. A commanding officer doesn’t need brains, just a good, loud voice.”
—Cyril Hume, and Fred McLeod Wilcox. Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon)