Vice Adm. Mel Williams, Jr. is a graduate with honors from Suitland High School, Suitland, Maryland. He graduated with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He holds a Master of Science in Engineering from the Catholic University of America, and he attended Harvard's JFK School of Government (National and International Security).

He is a nuclear-trained submariner. His U.S. Navy service included one year as an enlisted sailor and 32 years as a commissioned officer, He served 10 of those years in command.

On January 19, 1991, while serving as executive officer on USS LOUISVILLE (SSN 724), the submarine participated in the initial combat operations of Operation Desert Storm, becoming the first U.S. nuclear powered submarine in history to use Tomahawk cruise missiles in combat.

In 1994, he became the first African American in history to command a Nuclear Powered Strategic Ballistic Missile Submarine, USS Nebraska (SSBN 739), gold crew. As commanding officer, his team was the first in the nation to win the prestigious Omaha Trophy award for excellence. The award represented the top U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force units for excellence in Strategic Performance. The submarine also earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Battle Efficiency ‘E’ award.

He is one of the U.S. Navy and Submarine Force “Centennial Seven”, the first seven African Americans to command a U.S. Navy submarine in the first 100-year history of the Submarine Force.

In 2000, as commander, Submarine Squadron Four, one of his six fast attack submarines won the prestigious Battenburg Cup as the top performing ship, submarine, or aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. This was the first time that a submarine had earned this distinction in the 96-year history of the award.

Following September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., he served as chief of staff of the Kitty Hawk Aircraft Carrier Strike Group, and on October 7, 2001, the Strike Group engaged during the initial combat operations of Operation Enduring Freedom.

He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 2003 and served as commander, Submarine Group Nine responsible for twelve nuclear powered submarines, 24 commands, and 4,000 people.

He was promoted to Rear Admiral (two stars) in 2005 and served as director of Global Operations at U.S. Strategic Command where he was responsible to the Commander for Joint Operations, Intelligence, Logistics, Command & Control, and Training across all mission areas including the Nuclear mission, Space, and Cyberspace.

In 2006, he became the sixth African American in U.S. Navy’s history to reach the rank of Vice Admiral (three stars) and served as deputy commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

In 2008 he became commander. U.S. Second Fleet in command of 130 ships and over 90,000 sailors and marines, and he concurrently served as director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence in support of NATO’s transformation in Maritime operations.

In October 2010 he transitioned from the U.S. Navy to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) serving (2011-2013) as associate deputy secretary of Energy. He was the presidential appointee responsible for day-to-day management and operational excellence, reporting directly to the Secretary of Energy and the Deputy Secretary.

From 2013 to present, he transitioned to academia. He serves as Associate Dean of Engineering at the Catholic University of America (2017- present) and since August 2021 has been serving as the Inaugural Special Assistant to the President (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and he was concurrently part-time as the Nuclear Research Consultant at the University of California, Davis (2016-2021), a management and supervisory position and report directly to the Vice Chancellor for Research and supported the UC Davis 2 MW Nuclear Research Reactor located near Sacramento, California. He previously served as associate Provost (Military and Veterans Affairs) at the George Washington University (2013-2016).

He and his father are co-authors of the leadership book, Navigating the Seven Seas, which since 2012 has been included on the “Navy Reading Program” list by the U.S. Navy, and in 2019 the book made the Washington Post list of “Washington Bestsellers Top 10 non-fiction books”. They are noted as the only African American father and son in U.S. Navy history whereby the father reached a top enlisted rank of E-9 and the son reached a top officer rank of O-9.

Last Updated: 7 April 2022