Rear Adm. Cassidy “Dudley” Norman, a native of Austin, Texas, graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 1993. Soon after, he left an engineering position at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to join the U.S. Navy. He graduated from Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1993 and earned his “Wings of Gold” in 1995. He earned master’s degrees in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee and National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, where he graduated with distinction. He is also a graduate of Naval Test Pilot School, Joint Forces Staff College, and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

During 10 aircraft carrier deployments over the last two decades, he supported Operations Southern Watch in the Arabian Gulf, Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Inherent Resolve in Syria. He moved to Japan for a tour in VFA-192, integrated the JDAM while underway as Strike Operations Officer in CVW-17, led each of the main departments in VFA-136, and managed an aircraft carrier as the Executive Officer of USS Harry S. Truman, which earned the Battle “E” Award twice during his tour.

Norman commanded VFA-83 on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2010, earning back-to-back Golden Wrench Awards for Maintenance Excellence. Homeported in Italy, he also commanded the U.S. Sixth Fleet Flagship, USS Mount Whitney, in support of multiple NATO, U.S. Second Fleet, and U.S. Sixth Fleet exercises in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas in 2019 and 2020. He recently commanded USS John C. Stennis during her refueling and first two years of mid-life overhaul in Newport News Shipbuilding, setting the gold standard for what is now called Quality of Service, establishing high-tech and high-performance standards for fire prevention and response, and setting all-time records for his crew’s performance of ship maintenance well ahead of schedule.

Ashore, he served as the Navy’s AMRAAM Project Officer and as a test pilot for over 40 weapons test programs out of Point Mugu, CA, where he was selected as the 2003 VX-30 Test Pilot of the Year. In the Pentagon, he served in the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J8), where he supported several Strategic Seminars and Interagency war games for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as the Chief of Staff for Navy Warfare Development Command in Norfolk, VA. He served as the Chief of Staff for the Commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic for one year. He took over as Director, Joint/Fleet Operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command in June of 2024.

Norman logged 702 traps across the six most recent classes of aircraft carriers, from USS Independence to USS Gerald R. Ford. He has flown 116 combat missions in the F/A-18 and over 3,100 flight hours in 44 different types of aircraft.

Last Updated: 25 November 2024