Hispanic Admirals in The United States Navy - Other Hispanic Admirals

Other Hispanic Admirals

There are also some members of the Navy who reached the rank of Admiral and who were not graduates of the Naval Academy. These were men who had earned specialized degrees and then chose to serve in the Navy. The following are the Hispanic Admirals who are not alumni of the Academy.

• Rear Admiral Jose Luis Betancourt, Jr. (Surface Warfare) (Ret.), was Commander, Mine Warfare Command, headquartered at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas. Betancourt, who was born in Mexico, had previously served aboard the LST Frederick, destroyer John S. McCain, frigate William H. Standley, and as Executive Officer of the cruiser Fox. He served as commanding officer of the destroyer Merrill, during its deployment to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, where during extensive mine clearance operations his ship served as flagship. Betancourt, served in various positions, among them Commanding Officer of the amphibious assault ship Peleliu, Special Assistant for Officer Accession Programs, Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel at Washington, D.C. and in the International Military Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium before being named Commander of the Mine Warfare Command. In this position he was responsible for the development of the Navy's mining strategy and the Navy's inventory of underwater mines among other tasks.

• Rear Admiral Alberto Díaz, Jr. (Medical Corps) (Ret.), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Washington University and a Master's degree in Psychology from Butler University. He earned his Medical Degree from the University of Barcelona Medical School in Barcelona, Spain. Diaz was the first Hispanic to become the Director of the San Diego Naval District and Balboa Naval Hospital.

• Rear Admiral Philip A. Dur (Ret.), born in Bethesda, Maryland, earned a bachelor's degree in Government and International Studies and a Master's degree in Soviet East European studies from the University of Notre Dame. He also earned a Master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Dur served as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; Director, Navy Strategy Division; Commander, Battle Force United States Sixth Fleet; Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group EIGHT; United States Defense Attaché accredited to the Government of France; Commanding Officer, Yorktown; and Director, Political Military Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council.

• Rear Admiral Alvaro R. Gomez (Ret.) born in Brooklyn, New York, earned a Bachelor's degree in history from St. Johns University and a Master of Science degree in business administration from George Washington University.

• Vice Admiral Diego E. Hernández (Ret.), born in San Juan, was the first Hispanic to be named Vice Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Hernandez as Commander, Third Fleet, coordinated RIMPAC '88, a massive naval exercise which included more than 40 ships, approximately 200 aircraft and more than 50,000 sailors, airmen and Marines from the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada. This exercise marked the first inclusion of a battleship, the Missouri, as a component in RIMPAC.

• Rear Admiral Rodrigo C. Melendez (Dental Corps) (Ret.), from Los Angeles, California, joined a Navy Dental Student Early Commissioning Program during his freshmen year in Dental School. He earned Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Surgery degrees from the University of Southern California and a Master of Science degree from George Washington University. He served as Assistant Chief for Education, Training and Personnel, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C.