Vice Adm. Brad Cooper is the son of a career Army Officer. He is a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and earned a master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University. He studied international relations at Harvard and Tufts Universities. Cooper is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

A career Surface Warfare Officer, he has deployed on ships to every combatant command theater of operation and served a tour on the ground in Afghanistan. He most recently served for nearly three years in Bahrain as commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, FIFTH Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. Other command tours include service as commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic; commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7 in Okinawa, Japan; and, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea. His ship commands include USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Gettysburg (CG 64).

Ashore, he served as the Navy Chief of Legislative Affairs and Director, Surface Warfare Officer assignments (Pers-41). He has also served in a variety of executive and military assistant roles in the White House, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters.

Cooper is a recipient of the Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Award for Visionary Leadership.

He is particularly proud of the thousands of extraordinary men and women with whom he has served at sea and ashore all around the world. His amazing Sailors on USS Gettysburg earned the Battenberg Cup as the best ship, submarine or aircraft carrier in the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet.

Last Updated: 12 May 2025