Trump Nominates Submariner for Chief of Naval Operations; Naval Experts (Mostly) Approve
“He’s one of the few admirals who embraced public engagement to push Trump 2.0 priorities. He’s not media-shy, he’s been on Wall Street selling capital markets on capitalizing shipbuilding, appeared in several recruiting spots, and speaks directly to sailors in videos that actually go viral.”
We here at Legal Insurrection have been keeping track of who runs the U.S. Navy, primarily because the Navy is critical to any future conflict the U.S. gets involved in:
🚨BREAKING: The American aircraft carrier Nimitz is on its way to the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/mKTRjS77Gj
— Eli Afriat 🇮🇱🎗 (@EliAfriatISR) June 15, 2025
💥 BOOM 💥
The USS Ford (the most advanced aircraft carrier in the US Navy) and its battle group have been ordered to approach the area – currently the area of responsibility of the European Command.
The Ford joins the Carl Vinson, which is already here, and the Nimitz,…
— Cheryl E 🇮🇱🎗️ (@CherylWroteIt) June 18, 2025
Unfortunately (another reason we covered the Navy so extensively), the last two people to run the Navy generated their fair share of controversy.
First, you had Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Michael Gilday, who thought it was a good idea to place Ibram X. Kendi’s racist screed “How to be an Anti-Racist” on the Navy’s recommended reading list: Ideological Capture: When Top Military Leaders Adopt Critical Race Theory Verbiage.
After getting torched by the blowback Gilday thought twice and quietly dropped the racist polemic, US Navy Chief Removes Woke and CRT Books From Professional Reading Program List, but the damage was done:
- Nearly 70 Percent of Military Personnel Have Witnessed “Growing Politicization” of Armed Forces, New Poll Reveals
- Cause and Effect: Military Enshrines DEI While Recruiting Tanks
- U.S. Navy, Faced with Recruiting Nightmare, Begins Accepting High School Dropouts
Then you had the most recent CNO, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who was explicitly chosen by then-President Biden because she was to be the first female head of any military service and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Biden Overrides Defense Secretary Recommendation for Navy Chief of Operations, Appoints Woman To Achieve “A First”
That did not work so well, USS Boxer, Amphibious Assault Ship Carrying Hundreds of Marines, Forced to Return to Port for Repairs Two Weeks After Deploying, Navy Likely to Remove 17 Support Ships, Called the “Logistics Backbone” of the Fleet, from Active Service, and on February 21, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired Franchetti: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Chief of Naval Operations, Among Others, Fired
When that happened, one X commentator posted some unflattering things about Franchetti’s tenure as CNO:
✔️ Hands in pockets
✔️ Un-shined boots
✔️ Brown boots on a SWO
✔️ Camo at an official function
✔️ Plastic jacket instead of wool peacoatNo single photo sums up Admiral Lisa Franchetti’s short tenure as CNO better. All that’s missing? A rusty warship in the background. https://t.co/il0kaLR6UY pic.twitter.com/lOvqgWnbdm
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 22, 2025
“Admiral Lisa Franchetti has overseen a U.S. Navy rife with ship collisions, crashes, shooting down of its own aircraft, and ships that exhibit more rust than paint, while the Fleet shrinks.”https://t.co/V7PtuC8j5Q
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 16, 2025
In any event, President Trump has now nominated a new leader for the U.S. Navy, and it’s a submariner! From the Naval Institute:
President Donald Trump tapped Adm. Daryl Caudle to serve as the next chief of naval operations, nearly four months after the removal of Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
The Senate Armed Services Committee received the nomination Tuesday, according to a Congressional notification. Caudle, who is currently the head of U.S. Fleet Forces in Norfolk, Va., will appear before the upper chamber’s committee as part of his nomination process.
Caudle was one of several contenders for the job over the last few months after the Trump administration dismissed Franchetti at the end of February. Since then, Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, has also been serving as the acting chief of naval operations…
Caudle, a career submariner, has led Fleet Forces since December 2021. Before that job, he led Naval Submarine Forces and Naval Submarine Force Atlantic.
During his career he served on numerous attack submarines and one nuclear ballistic missile submarine, according to his service biography. He served as the commanding officer of USS Jefferson City (SSN-759), USS Helena (SSN-725) and USS Topeka (SSN-754) as well as the commander of Submarine Squadron 3.
He graduated from North Carolina State University in 1985 and is originally from Winston-Salem, N.C., according to his bio.
During his time leading Fleet Forces, Caudle was critical of industry for not meeting program schedules, particularly for munitions. At the 2023 Surface Navy Association conference, Caudle dismissed industry for citing the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain problems as reasons for delays.
Importantly, Commander Salamander, former U.S. naval surface warfare officer and Navy commentator extraordinaire, approves. He also explains how and why Caudle was able to command three attack submarines, which is (obviously) very unusual.
From Salamander’s excellent Substack: We Have a CNO: Salamander approved:
At first glance, this looks solid…
Yes, he’s a submariner, but I won’t hold that against him. (I kid, I’m a kidder).
Coming from Fleet Forces, he’s got a handle of the issues.
He has a lot of sea duty and command at sea experience in the no-nonsense part of our Navy:
Caudle served at various posts during his sea tour assignments such as division officer, USS George Washington Carver (SSBN-656), engineer of USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634) and USS Sand Lance (SSN-660) as well as serving as executive officer of USS Montpelier (SSN-765). His first command assignment was as commanding officer of USS Jefferson City (SSN-759). While appointed to the Submarine Squadron 11 as deputy commander, he served as commanding officer of USS Topeka (SSN-754) and USS Helena (SSN-725). He also commanded Submarine Squadron 3 as Commodore.
He is not a card-carrying member of the Potomac Flotilla. More fleet experience at the highest levels:
Submarine Forces; commander, Submarine Force Atlantic; commander, Task Force (CTF) 114, CTF 88, and CTF 46; and commander, Allied Submarine Command.
As a Flag Officer [i.e. Admiral]:
…deputy chief for security cooperation, Office of the Defense Representative, Pakistan; deputy commander, Joint Functional Component Command-Global Strike; deputy commander, U.S. 6th Fleet; director of operations U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa; commander, Submarine Group Eight; commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and vice director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Joint Staff (J-5) in Washington, D.C.
The only “DC” job is exactly the job you’d want. Again, operational.
In a meta view as well, he graduated from a State university, North Carolina State University, and then went to OCS [Officer Candidate School — not the U.S. Naval Academy].
That formative experience matters, at least to me.
So, this is a time of change and challenge—I wish him and our Navy the absolute best success.
Also, as a warning to those in OPNAV [the Navy part of the Pentagon], as a chemical engineering grad who is a nuclear-trained submariner: there will be math.
To be completely fair, not everyone is totally impressed with Admiral Caudle.
From Real Clear Defense in April of this year: The Next CNO:
As for Caudle, until his arrival at Fleet Forces Command – the four-star command charged with organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining Navy forces to ensure they are ready for deployment and combat – it is not too much of a stretch to say that his record suggests an officer who has never interacted with anyone other than a submariner since his commissioning. It is not accidental that his professional biography spends its first two paragraphs fully exploring his education, which is admittedly impressive. He is a nuke’s nuke. A lead engineer, not a lead Sailor…Caudle never commanded a Fleet, and he never held a four-star operational command.
But John Konrad, the aforementioned X commentator, has this to say:
Good pick but not without controversy. Many in my Navy circles hoped the CNO search would dig deeper maybe a rising 1- or 2-star [admiral].
Caudle is 61, a 4-star who got his first star under Obama’s far-left SECNAV (Secretary of the Navy) Ray Mabus.
But credit where due, he’s one of the few admirals who embraced public engagement to push Trump 2.0 priorities. He’s not media-shy, he’s been on Wall Street selling capital markets on capitalizing shipbuilding, appeared in several recruiting spots, and speaks directly to sailors in videos that actually go viral.
99% of flag officers filter everything via PAOs [public affairs officers] and refuse to step up to the mic and explain why the Navy needs funding and support. It’s not surprising that the last three absolutely critical picks – Rear Adm. Marc Miguez (head of legislative affairs), Admiral Cooper (head of @CENTCOM) and Admiral Caudle (CNO) – have been exceptions to that rule.
IMHO he needs 2–3 weeks of hard media training to sharpen the message and drive public + Hill support. That matters. But this sends pick sends a clear message to Navy leadership: stand up for your service and sailors or get passed over.
He doesn’t look lethal—short, soft jaw, not the Mattis/Milley high-and-tight vibe Trump usually loves… but maybe that’s a good thing. Those guys didn’t deliver on Trump’s agenda.
Let’s give him some time to sharpen his message and get the rest of the admirals aboard with leaning into public, congressional and direct sailor engagement.
Good pick but not without controversy. Many in my Navy circles hoped the CNO search would dig deeper maybe a rising 1- or 2-star.
Caudle is 61, a 4-star who got his first star under Obama’s far-left SECNAV Ray Mabus.
But credit where due, he’s one of the few admirals who… https://t.co/E8GzKUfWtE
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) June 18, 2025
All I can say is that I can guarantee you that Admiral Caudle has one thing all submariners have — standards. He’s not going to put up with warships that can’t deploy, like the aforementioned USS Boxer, or rusty ships, or shipbuilding that’s behind schedule, or putting your hands on your pockets in uniform.
Not to say he’s perfect, but he strikes me as a good choice. Godspeed Admiral Caudle.
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Comments
“All I can say is that I can guarantee you that Admiral Caudle has one thing all submariners have — standards. ”
Quite literally, submariners are men apart.
As the wife of a career FBM sailor (senior chief at retirement) I applaud this choice.
Also the wife of a submariner, I agree!
Not a ring knocker. Not an Ivy League type. Not from A Good Family.
Ex-CTR3 T G Grizzly approves.
As a retired STSC(SW/SS), I concur.
YES
retired CTO1 approves.
Griz remember Torri station.
good times.
78-79 at Toreii. Did I k is you? I was Grizz back then as well.
k is = know. Damned phone…
CTO3 J. Arnold
good times…
dining at the Red Bull
and that little dinner
across the street…
Drop me a note if you want. [email protected]
How ever will the Navy survive without a DEI ring knocker leading them to glory? They should have put Admiral Levine in charge 😉
“Liberty Call” and “Shore Duty” will probably not be high on his priority list. I foresee days-at-sea records for aircraft carriers being shattered.
Out of curiosity, why would a ops guy want a staff position or is he out options/time? Aren’t there better ops jobs available?
It would be unusual for an officer of rank not to do time on a staff. My daughter is a NCO and has to spend time at The Pentagon on a staff.
Had to spend time
This I understand. However CNO isn’t just any old staff position. I suppose for a 4 star which I assume he is there aren’t that many staff positions available,
In the Pentagon? They make room
I read somewhere SecDef is cutting back on numbers of generals/admirals and it’s probably well past time to do so.
To Zak: Think of what that will do to the Georgetown cocktail party circuit!
I;m not sure having never been invited to any of the “good” parties or the bad ones for that matter.
On the subject of submarines, “Run Silent, Run Deep,” starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, is currently free to watch on YouTube.
I had never seen it before; it’s quite good and holds up pretty well.
As I recall the book is pretty good too.
Good book and a much better movie than Hunt for Red October.
I first read the book, “Run Silent, Run Deep,” in 1967. I really liked it and then watched the 1958 movie directed by Robert Wise of the same title, and featured the debut of Don Rickles.
Via Wiki:
“United Artists promoted Run Silent, Run Deep as a combination of the obsessiveness of Moby-Dick’s Captain Ahab and the shipboard rivalry found in Mutiny on the Bounty.”
“Although based on a novel of the same name, and having many of the same characters, the plot of the film diverges from that of the book written in 1955.”
“Captain Beach, the author of the book, did not think highly of the film; he later said that the film company bought only the book title and was not interested in producing an accurate depiction of the theme and plot of his novel.”
Beach knew is subject, being a submariner himself.
Beach knew is subject, being a submariner himself.
_____________________________
not a submariner myself–run silent, run deep was a good film–das boot however, was outright terrifying and exhausting
my uncle (a naval aviator) viewed submarine duty as about like fencing in the dark–takes a rare brand of courage and focus
He captained 6 subs and received both the Navy Cross and 2 Silver Stars, One of the subs he captained was the USS Triton, the only American sub with 2 nuke reactors, He was in WW2 but I don’t think he captained a sub in it. Maybe at the very end. He definitely knew his material,.
If I could do a time machine thing, I’d like to bring, say, Gunter Prein (Scapa Flow raid), Benjamin Bryant (author of a favorite book of mine), and Richard O’Kane (USS Tang) back to the present day and give them a tour of one of today’s nuclear subs. Any of today’s. British, American, Russian; it doesn’t matter.
Then, get their “take” on what they see.
What is also interesting are some of the new diesel air independent subs by Sweden,
Japan S Korea, and probably Germany than can stay submerged now for 2-3 weeks.
wud love to see the US get some Diesel boats
coastal patrol … let the nukes make long range
patrol….
Yeah I was thinking that. We don’t even have to build them. We have plenty of allies. Let them build the basic hull, machinery, and control and we add in our electronics and weapon systems.
They tried to do something similar with the new frigate but of course we redesigned it and the first one is fat and over budget and late.
I liked The Enemy Below.
Another good movie is Das Boot, the German version. Forget that they were the bad guys and enjoy the terror.
I have read about that movie, I know that it was filmed in a one to one scale set. The whole concept of the movie scares the hell out of me. I read the book, and that was enough.
Thanks for the recommendation; I’ll check this out.
Oh boy. I’m watching that this weekend. I remember reading that in grade school and thinking how brave they were but insane in that tube. It’s why I became a Paratrooper which is much safer.
I thought about sub duty when I was a crypto guy in the Navy. One should give rumors a lot of credibility but one should also err on the side of caution. I was told that the CTs were confined to their own working compartment for the entire deployment; eat, sleep, work, all in one space. That held no appeal, so… no. Otherwise I’d gladly have done sub duty as I find today’s boats amazing.
Yeah. Jumping out of perfectly good planes. The very definition of safe.
One of the first books for adults I read was my parents’ copy of Submarine by Beach. I have read it a couple of times in the ensuing 70 years. It is on my bookshelf. I should get a copy of Run Silent Run Deep.
Another – likely out of print but may be in a used book store here and there is one that was published under two titles. The original title was One Man Band, and the American paperback was called Submarine Commander. Author is one Benjamin Bryant. He went to sea in WW1 subs, and captained subs in WW2 in the Royal Navy. His “bag” was not great, but the stories within the book are interesting and at times, funny. Bryant was a man I would liked to have met and talked to, but he passed on in the 1990s.
https://www.amazon.com/Submarine-commander-Ballatine-war-book/dp/B0007I3Y6M#
out of print but available in paper and hard
I guess we will get that NSSN-X after all.
Fingers crossed!
Stronger than a whale
He can swim anywhere
He can breathe under water
And go flying through the air
The noble Sub Mariner, Prince of the deep
So, beware you deadly demons
Lord Namor of Atlantis
Is the Prince of the Deep.
As a former RM2(SS), I approve!
Submarines once, Submarines twice,
Holy jumpin (for the rest, if you know, you’re qualified).
Didn’t know there were so many submariners among the LI readership. Figures!
Quite a step up from the DEI hires the Dems love.
A white, presumably Christian, male. HORRORS!
April 9 2025
REVITALIZING U.S. MARITIME POWER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a historic Executive Order to restore American maritime dominance.
The Order directs the creation of a Maritime Action Plan (MAP) to revitalize U.S. maritime industries.
The MAP will provide a strategy with specific actions to restore and create sustained resiliency for the American maritime industry.
Up until now, government procurement processes and over-regulation have hindered private industry’s ability to build vessels on time and on budget—this Order reverses that trend.
It instructs the Secretary of Defense to assess options, including the Defense Production Act Title III authorities, to invest in and expand the Maritime Industrial Base.
Such an action will help better utilize and leverage existing authorities to spur public and private investment in the Maritime Industrial Base.
The Order directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to make recommendations regarding China’s anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry.
Seems like a very good pick. He’s never had anything handed to him, he succeeded time after time.
You stated directly what I was driving at up top in the comments. I like those who worked for what they have. I far more respect the lawyer who sweated out night school at Southwestern than a legacy admission to one of the Ivies. Or is that Ivys?
I wouldn’t have heard about Admiral Caudle’s appointment to CNO had I not read it here. Love the “thumbs up” comments from other Navy guys. Love what Trump is trying desperately to do to bring our Navy back to a large, lethal, effective force.
I believe that if you are old enough to vote, get married, enter into a contract, and take an Oath to join then military, then I believe that you are old enough to buy and drink alcohol.
The Joint Chiefs of the Armed Forces need to figure out how to make buying and drinking Alcohol legal for 18 year olds in the military.
Those young adults wanting to join the military would go way up, and the military would have their choice of recruits.
I remember one deployment to Central America where there was a never ending 55 gal drum of ice and Olympia for 25 cents each when you got off duty. No carding required as our Top was old school 101st Vietnam. He told us he didn’t care what the rules in the States were as we weren’t there but if anyone got caught drunk on duty he would stomp them into retirement
Sounds like Task Force Bravo, Honduras. The Beach Club…
“Joint Task Force…”
Damn iPhones.
I have noticed that Trump has appointed a lot of people willing to publicly defend his agenda. I think that is part of his success. Usually all we hear is from Democrat demagogues and leftist news media. Sounds like this admiral will speak up
I am happy that Trump got the message this time. He’s not following the guidance of the establishment republicans.
This is a good choice
Retired CTT1, boat rider out of NSGD Naples (76-79), I will throw my concur in also.
Greetings, T-Brancher. -signed- CTR3 Grizzly, 1977 – 1981 (fired for overweight)
Thanks, pleasure to be here. You ever ride in the Med? Or get over to Sinop?
retired CTO1 here
road surface outta Rota.
In the 2010s I did some of my enery conservation survey work at Rota. I found where the old Wullenweber array had been, and the bare patch of ground where the site had been. Nice base, nice town, wonderful friendly people.
Toreii Stwtuon Okinawa, San Angelo for analyst school, then Sabana Seca where there was nothing for me to use my school on. Thrown out for being fat.
I took the ASVAB in high school which I maxed. Marines wanted me to be a Marine of course. Air Force I don’t remember the spiel. Navy wanted me to to Nuke engineering on a sub but that was years. Army wanted me to do prep school for officer which I turned down then the recruiter, Sgt Brosseau who was a great guy I took fishing one day asked if I wanted to jump out of planes. Oh Hell Yeah!!
I wanted Nuke Electronic Tech so bad my teeth itched. Well… guess who is red-green-deficient colorblind?
I appealed based on my “Statement of Demonstrated Ability (tower light test) I held from the FAA indicating I could read tower light signals.
Nope. Appeal denied.
Grr! Grr I say!
I went into Boot Camp as a Radioman, came out a CT, back when they called us Communications Techs. Wasn’t ’til I got to Corry Station that I had my choice of T or R branch. Barely made it through copying 5 groups with a pencil that I made my decision to chase radars. Corry Station was some kind of fun then. Went there in 91 when I was stationed at Mayport, FL. Boy was it changed in 15 years.
wow I never thought they wud close
rota …..
The base of stealth is still quite active. It’s just that all the CT buildings and stuff are gone. Savannah Seca, in Puerto Rico, is slowly being absorbed by the jungle vegetation. There’s probably six houses left in the base housing area; everything else in the base housing has been torn down. When I was stationed there in 1980, the police was an absolute disgrace. The housing was in very very poor condition. As for Tori station I believe that its facility is closed as well.
yeah when they closed navsecgru
down in 2oo5 that was it …
my rating cto was done in 2004
everyone became ctn (network)
or data processing…
Navfac Adak closed in 1997.
everything else closed in 2005.
sigh….
I feel really old.. 😀
Do you happen to know if Sinop is still active? Was there in 90-91. Wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to be. Left the hill and got into Istanbul the day before Saddam Hussein went into Kuwait. Heard they locked the hill down for months. Some kind of fun.