William Evans “Bill” Gortney is a retired US Navy admiral who is best known for his service as the 23rd commander of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
Childhood
Future Admiral William Gortney was born on September 25, 1955. In 1977, he graduated from Elon College (now Elon University) in North Carolina, becoming a bachelor of history and political science. He was an officer of the Kappa Sigma Brotherhood and a member of the university football team and rugby club. The son of a retired US Navy captain and second-generation naval aviator, Gortney, in the summer of 1977, enters the U.S. Navy's Candidate School for Aviation Officers at the Pensacola Naval Base in Florida as a candidate for the post of aviation officer.
Career
In September 1977, Hortney was enrolled in the United States Naval Reserve, and in December 1978, the future US admiral graduated from a fighter pilot.
From 1978 to the 80s, Gortney served in training squadron 26 at the Chase Field base in Texas.
From 1981 to 1984, he served in the 82nd strike squadron, based on the Chester Nimitz aircraft carrier.
From 1984 to 88, he served in the 125th Assault Fighter Squadron, based at Lemur's base in California.
From 1988 to the 90s he served in the 87th strike fighter squadron aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
From 1990 to 1991, he was assistant chief of naval operations in Washington.
From 1991 to 1992, he served as deputy commander of the 132nd attack fighter squadron aboard the Forrestol aircraft carrier.
From 1992 to 1994, he was deputy commander of the 15th strike fighter squadron aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, and from 1994 to 1995, Gortney already commanded this same squadron.
In 1996, he graduated from the Naval College with a master's degree in international security.
From 1996 to 1997, Gortney was ashore and commanded the 106th strike fighter squadron based at Cecil Field in Florida.
In 1998, Gortney was sent by the Central Command of the US Navy to the 5th fleet of the US Navy, which supported maritime security and military operations in the Persian Gulf. Units of the 5th Fleet took part in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
From 1998 to 1999, William Gortney served in the Joint Staff, heading the Joint Operations Division J-33 of the Central Command of the United States Navy. From 2000 to 2001, he was transferred to the Joint Task Force of South-West Asia, which was responsible for the South Watch operation, as deputy for current operations and deputy commander of the 7th air wing aboard the Dwight Eisenhower aircraft carrier.
From 2002 to 2003, he served as commander of the 7th aircraft carrier strike group, based on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.
Team posts
His first commanding appointment was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Global Force Management and Joint Operations at the US Navy Command in Norfolk, Virginia. The future US admiral takes this position from 2004 to 2006. From 2007 to 2008, Commander Gortney became the commander of the 10th aircraft carrier strike group based on the Harry Truman aircraft carrier, resulting in the title of two-star US Rear Admiral.
Also, Admiral William Gortney served as chief of communications under the Air Force Commander of the Central Command of the U.S. Navy at the Suzdan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, in the first months of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He served as the chief, naval and amphibious communications component (NAU) to the Commander of the United States Central Command’s air components at the Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia during the first months of the Iraq invasion in 2003, then served as chief of staff until 2004 Commander, 5th US Fleet in Bahrain.
From July 1, 2010 to August 2012, he was in the position of chief of the United States General Staff. From September 14, 2012 to December 2014, he heads the Joint Command of the US Central Command. Since December 5, 2014 - the head of the North American Air Force Space Defense Command (NORAD). In 2015, Admiral William Gortney ordered "recruiting centers, reserve centers, and ROTC facilities to increase surveillance and take emergency measures, such as shutting down blinds in offices," in response to armed shooting in Tennessee, which killed five US troops. On May 13, 2016, U.S. Air Force General Laurie Robinson succeeded Gortney.
Hortney Performance Assessment
Admiral William Gortney was awarded the Medal of Excellence in Defense, several medals of Excellence, the Medal of Merit, the Legion of Honor, the Bronze Star, three Air Medals, three Medals for the Commendation Service of the Ministry of Defense, and the Medal for commendable service of the Navy and Marine Corps and 8 maritime service ribbons.
During his military career, Admiral Gortney flew more than 5,360 flight hours, made 1265 successful landings on aircraft carriers, primarily in the A-7E Corsair II and F / A-18 Hornet.