Stanley R. Arthur

Admiral, U.S. Navy

Stanley R. Arthur was born on 27 September 1935 in San Diego, CA, and was commissioned in U.S. Navy through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Program in June 1957. Following completion of flight training, he was designated as a Naval Aviator in 1958.

Arthur flew more than 500 combat missions in the A-4 Skyhawk during the Vietnam War, receiving 11 separate awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross and over 50 separate awards of the Air Medal, making him one of the most highly decorated combat aviators of that conflict. During the 1970s and 1980s, he also held command of a carrier-based attack squadron, a carrier air wing, an aircraft carrier, a carrier battle group, and was Chief of Naval Personnel.

In the First Gulf War, then-Vice Admiral Arthur commanded the U.S. Seventh Fleet and was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command during Operation 'Desert Storm' in 1990-91. He directed the operations of more than 96,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel and 130 U.S. Navy and Allied ships. This represented the largest U.S. naval armada amassed since World War II.

On 6 July 1992, Arthur was promoted to the four-star rank of Admiral and assumed duties as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Admiral Arthur retired from the Navy on 1 June 1995, due to the Tailhook Incident.

Tailhook Incident

As Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the Navy's number two officer, he was also the Navy's most senior Naval Aviator immediately after the 1991 Tailhook Incident. Admiral Arthur was nominated by President Bill Clinton to head U.S. military forces in the Pacific as the prospective Commander of U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), but the nomination was withdrawn after Senator Dave Durenberger, R-Minnesota, questioned Arthur's handling of sexual harassment allegations brought by one of the Senator's constituents, a female Navy student helicopter pilot named Rebecca Hansen, who was attrited from flight training.

Rather than let the Pacific fleet job go unfilled during what might have been protracted hearings, Arthur elected to retire from the Navy on 1 February 1995 as a four-star Admiral. Critics charged that the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Boorda, sacrificed Arthur to improve the Navy's image on sexual harassment following the Tailhook Incident. The volume of complaints prompted Boorda to issue an unusual public defense of Arthur and his decision not to fight for the nomination:

"Stan Arthur is an officer of integrity… who chose to take this selfless action… in the interests of more rapidly filling a critical leadership position. Those who postulate other reasons for the withdrawal are simply wrong."

Education

Arthur is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH. He later earned a second Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and received his Master's degree in Administration from George Washington University.

Medals and Awards

Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3 Awards)
Legion of Merit (4 Awards with Combat "Valor" Device)
Distinguished Flying Cross (11 Awards)
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal (47 Strike/Flight Awards and 4 Individual Awards with Combat "Valor" Device)
Navy Commendation Medal (2 Awards with Combat "Valor" Device)

Badges

Naval Aviator Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

Honors

Recipient of the Admiral Arleigh A. Burke Leadership Award from the Navy League in 1996.

Inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor in 2008.

Recipient of the Gray Eagle Award.

The Admiral Stan Arthur Award for Logistics Excellence is presented annually in his honor, and recognizes military and civilian logisticians who epitomize excellence in logistics planning and execution.

In Retirement

Admiral Arthur joined Lockheed Martin in 1996 and was appointed President, Missiles and Fire Control - Orlando, FL, in July 1999.