100 Notable alumni of Naval Postgraduate School

Updated: June 15, 2026 EliteDegrees

Naval Postgraduate School is 837st in the world, 1st in North America, and 231st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Naval Postgraduate School sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Naval Postgraduate School won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.

Arthur K. Cebrowski

1. Arthur K. Cebrowski

1942-2005 (aged 63)
military officer
Vice Admiral Arthur Karl Cebrowski (August 13, 1942 – November 12, 2005) was a United States Navy admiral. He also who served from October 2001 to January 2005 as Director of the Office of Force Transformation in the U.S. Department of Defense. In this position, he was responsible for serving as an advocate, focal point, and catalyst for the transformation...
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James J. Malloy

2. James J. Malloy

1963-. (aged 63)
military officer
James Joseph Malloy is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy, who last served as Deputy Commander, United States Central Command from September 21, 2020, to July 2022.
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Ming Chang

3. Ming Chang

1932-2017 (aged 85)
military officer
Ming Erh Chang served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years, becoming the first naturalized Asian American naval officer to reach flag rank in the United States military. He became the Department of the Navy Inspector General in 1987 after holding cruiser and destroyer commands. When Chang left the navy, he became vice president and corporate director for the Pacific...
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Stephen Frick

4. Stephen Frick

1964-. (aged 62)
test pilot naval officer astronaut military flight engineer
Stephen Nathaniel Frick is an American astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Frick graduated from Pine-Richland High School in 1982, earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1986, was commissioned as a United States Navy officer, and trained as an F/A-18 fighter pilot. Stationed aboard the carrier...
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Annette E. Brown

5. Annette E. Brown

1950-. (aged 76)
military officer
Annette Elise Brown is a retired rear admiral of the United States Navy.
Earl E. Stone

6. Earl E. Stone

1895-1989 (aged 94)
military officer
Earl Everett Stone was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He is most noted for being the first director of the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency.
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Jagath Jayasuriya

7. Jagath Jayasuriya

2008-2009 (aged 1)
General Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army officer; he was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 15 July 2009 to 31 July 2013. During the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he served as the Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni with overall command of SLA offensives in the Wanni region...
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Daniel W. Bursch

8. Daniel W. Bursch

1957-. (aged 69)
test pilot astronaut military officer aircraft pilot
Daniel Wheeler Bursch is a former NASA astronaut, and Captain of the United States Navy. He had four spaceflights, the first three of which were Space Shuttle missions lasting 10 to 11 days each. His fourth and final spaceflight was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station as a crew member of Expedition 4, which lasted from December 2001...
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Joseph R. Donovan Jr

9. Joseph R. Donovan Jr

1951-. (aged 75)
diplomat
Joseph R. Donovan Jr. is a former American diplomat who previously served as United States Ambassador to Indonesia. Joseph R. Donovan Jr. graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He earned a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.
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Robert C. Springer

10. Robert C. Springer

1942-. (aged 84)
astronaut military officer
Robert Clyde Springer is a retired American astronaut and test pilot who flew as a mission specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1989 and 1990. A decorated aviator in the United States Marine Corps, Springer also flew more than 500 combat sorties during the Vietnam War. He has logged over 237 hours in space and 4,500 hours flying...
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Jan E. Tighe

11. Jan E. Tighe

1962-. (aged 64)
Jan Elizabeth Tighe is a retired United States Navy vice admiral who served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare and 66th Director of Naval Intelligence from July 15, 2016, to July 2018. Prior to that, Tighe served as the Commander of the Tenth Fleet and Fleet Cyber Command. She became an independent director of Goldman Sachs in...
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Bryan D. O'Connor

12. Bryan D. O'Connor

1946-. (aged 80)
military officer aircraft pilot astronaut
Bryan Daniel O'Connor is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Michael D. Lumpkin

13. Michael D. Lumpkin

1964-. (aged 62)
military officer
Michael D. Lumpkin is a former American Naval Officer and businessman who served as Chief of Staff at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from November 2023-January 2025, Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center at the U.S. Department of State from January 2016 to January 2017. From 2013 until 2016, he was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for...
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Kenneth Minihan

14. Kenneth Minihan

1943-2025 (aged 82)
military officer
Kenneth A. Minihan was a United States Air Force lieutenant general who served as the director of the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, retiring on 1 May 1999.
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Wayne E. Meyer

15. Wayne E. Meyer

1926-2009 (aged 83)
military officer
Rear Admiral Wayne Eugene Meyer is regarded as the "Father of Aegis" for his 13 years of service as the Aegis Weapon System Manager and later the founding project manager of the Aegis Shipbuilding Project Office. He retired from the United States Navy in 1985 as the Deputy Commander for Weapons and Combat Systems, Naval Sea Systems, Naval Sea Systems...
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Stan Arthur

16. Stan Arthur

1935-. (aged 91)
military officer
Admiral Stanley Roger Arthur is a retired admiral of the United States Navy who served as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1992 to 1995.
Mark E. Ferguson III

17. Mark E. Ferguson III

1956-. (aged 70)
naval officer
Mark E. Ferguson III is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, United States Naval Forces Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples. Ferguson previously served as the 37th Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 22, 2011, to July 1, 2014. Prior to that, he served as the 55th Chief...
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Håkan Syrén

18. Håkan Syrén

1952-. (aged 74)
military personnel
General Håkan Erik Gunnar Syrén is a retired Swedish Navy officer. Syrén graduated from the Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1973 and began his career as an instructor and platoon commander at the Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment. After advanced studies in Sweden and at the U.S. Naval War College, he held key posts including teacher of strategy, head of planning...
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Thomas E. White

19. Thomas E. White

1943-2024 (aged 81)
manager politician
Thomas Eugene White Jr. was an American businessman and former United States Army officer who served as a senior executive for a subsidiary of the now collapsed Enron and as the United States Secretary of the Army from May 31, 2001 until November 17, 2004.
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Michael Coats

20. Michael Coats

1946-. (aged 80)
military officer aircraft pilot astronaut
Michael Lloyd Coats is a former NASA astronaut (three spaceflights), raised in Riverside, California. From December 2005 to December 2012, he served as Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
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Keith Davids

21. Keith Davids

1968-. (aged 58)
military officer
Keith Bently Davids is a retired American United States Navy special warfare officer with the rank of rear admiral. He served as the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command from 2022 to 2024. He was the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command South, United States Southern Command from 2020 to 2022. Previously, he served as director of the White House...
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William S. Wallace

22. William S. Wallace

1946-. (aged 80)
military personnel
William Scott Wallace is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He served as Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia from 13 October 2005 to 8 December 2008. He retired from the army on 8 December 2008.
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Thomas R. Turner II

23. Thomas R. Turner II

1955-. (aged 71)
executive officer
Lieutenant General Thomas R. Turner II is an American retired United States Army officer, who served as the commander of the 101st Airborne Division and United States Army North, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
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Missy Cummings

24. Missy Cummings

aircraft pilot engineer
Mary Louise "Missy" Cummings is an American academic who was a professor at Duke University and director of Duke's Humans and Autonomy Laboratory. She was one of the United States Navy's first female fighter pilots. In November 2021, Dr. Cummings joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). She currently teaches at George Mason University.
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Kenneth Ham

25. Kenneth Ham

1964-. (aged 62)
military officer test pilot military flight engineer engineer astronaut
Kenneth Todd Ham is a retired American astronaut and a captain in the United States Navy. Ham was selected for NASA's astronaut program in August 1998, while serving as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet lead carrier suitability test pilot. Ham's aviator call sign is "Hock". Ham traveled to space twice as part of the Space Shuttle program. He flew on STS-124...
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Michael Foreman

26. Michael Foreman

1957-. (aged 69)
astronaut military officer
Michael James Foreman is a retired U.S. Navy pilot, NASA astronaut, and local politician. While with NASA, Foreman was part of a mission that delivered the Japanese Experiment Module and the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator to the International Space Station. Foreman was also a crewmember of the STS-129 mission in November 2009. In 2018, he was elected mayor of...
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William K. Lescher

27. William K. Lescher

1958-. (aged 68)
military officer
William Kevin Lescher is a retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy who last served as the 41st Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He held this office from May 29, 2020, to September 2, 2022. Lescher was also the "Old Goat", the longest serving Naval Academy graduate on active duty, from 2018 to 2022.
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Theodore E. Chandler

28. Theodore E. Chandler

1894-1945 (aged 51)
military officer
Theodore Edson Chandler was a rear admiral of the United States Navy during World War II, who commanded battleship and cruiser divisions in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. He was killed in action when a Japanese kamikaze aircraft struck his flagship Louisville on January 6, 1945, in Lingayen Gulf, Philippine Islands. He died the next day, January 7, 1945,...
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Robert Curbeam

29. Robert Curbeam

1962-. (aged 64)
engineer astronaut military officer aircraft pilot
Robert Lee Curbeam Jr. is a former NASA astronaut and captain in the United States Navy. He currently holds the record for the most spacewalks during a single spaceflight, accomplished during the STS-116 mission, when Curbeam completed four spacewalks.
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John Batiste

30. John Batiste

1952-. (aged 74)
military personnel
John Robinson Batiste is a retired officer of the United States Army, author, and the co-founder of Batiste Leadership.
Victor J. Glover

31. Victor J. Glover

1976-. (aged 50)
fighter pilot naval officer systems engineer test pilot astronaut
Victor Jerome Glover Jr. is a United States Navy captain, test pilot, and astronaut from the NASA Astronaut Group 21. He was the pilot on the first operational flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. Glover was a F/A-18 pilot in the U.S. Navy and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School....
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Winston E. Scott

32. Winston E. Scott

1950-. (aged 76)
military officer aircraft pilot astronaut
Winston Elliott "Win" Scott is a retired United States Navy Captain and former NASA astronaut. He served as a mission specialist on STS-72 in 1996 and STS-87 in 1997 logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours and 34 minutes in space, including three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 26 minutes. Often known by his nickname of "Win", he was...
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John John Yeosock

33. John John Yeosock

1937-2012 (aged 75)
military personnel
John John Yeosock was a United States Army lieutenant general who commanded the Third United States Army during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
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Craig S. Faller

34. Craig S. Faller

1961-. (aged 65)
military officer
Craig Stephen Faller is a retired United States Navy admiral. A 1983 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a native of Fryburg, Pennsylvania, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering. He earned his master's in national security affairs (strategic planning) from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1990.
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James D. Watkins

35. James D. Watkins

1927-2012 (aged 85)
military officer
James David Watkins was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, also chairing U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins also served on the boards of various companies and other nongovernmental organizations and as the co-chair of the...
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Cecil D. Haney

36. Cecil D. Haney

1955-. (aged 71)
military personnel
Cecil Eugene Diggs Haney is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as Commander, United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) from November 15, 2013 to November 3, 2016. Prior to STRATCOM, he served as Commander, United States Pacific Fleet. He received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of...
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Paul J. Weitz

37. Paul J. Weitz

1932-2017 (aged 85)
military flight engineer military officer astronaut
Paul Joseph Weitz was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who flew into space twice. He was a member of the three-man crew who flew on Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission. He was also commander of the STS-6 mission, the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
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Gerald Carr

38. Gerald Carr

1932-2020 (aged 88)
military flight engineer engineer astronaut military officer
Gerald Paul Carr was an American mechanical and aeronautical engineer, United States Marine Corps officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut. He was commander of Skylab 4, the third and final crewed visit to the Skylab Orbital Workshop, from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.
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Jeffrey Williams

39. Jeffrey Williams

1958-. (aged 68)
test pilot engineer astronaut army officer
Jeffrey Nels Williams is a retired United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of four space flights and formerly held the American record for most days spent in space, which was surpassed in April 2017 by his colleague Peggy Whitson.
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Liu Ho-chien

40. Liu Ho-chien

1926-2023 (aged 97)
naval officer
Liu Ho-chien was a Taiwanese admiral who commanded the Republic of China Navy in the 1980s and served as Chief of the General Staff in the 1990s.
Scott Altman

41. Scott Altman

1959-. (aged 67)
military flight engineer military officer astronaut
Scott Douglas "Scooter" Altman is a retired United States Navy Captain and naval aviator, engineer, test pilot and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions. His fourth mission on STS-125 was the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2018, he was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. As of...
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Carlos I. Noriega

42. Carlos I. Noriega

1959-. (aged 67)
astronaut military officer
Carlos Ismael Noriega Jiménez is a Peruvian-American NASA employee, a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. Carlos became the first born Peruvian astronaut that went to space.
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Robert O. Work

43. Robert O. Work

1953-. (aged 73)
Robert Orton Work is an American national security professional who served as the 32nd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense for both the Obama and Trump administrations from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, Work was the United States' Under Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2013, and before that served as a colonel in the United States Marine...
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Frank Castellano

44. Frank Castellano

1964-. (aged 62)
military officer
Francis Xavier Castellano is a United States Navy captain currently assigned as the commanding officer of Center for Surface Combat Systems. He was the commander of the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge during the hijacking of MV Maersk Alabama.
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Jack R. Lousma

45. Jack R. Lousma

1936-. (aged 90)
military flight engineer astronaut military officer aircraft pilot
Jack Robert Lousma is an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, retired United States Marine Corps officer, former naval aviator, NASA astronaut, and politician. He was a member of the second crew, Skylab-3, on the Skylab space station in 1973. In 1982, he commanded STS-3, the third Space Shuttle mission. Lousma was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in...
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Michael Hagee

46. Michael Hagee

1944-. (aged 82)
military officer
Michael William Hagee is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2006, succeeding General James L. Jones on January 13, 2003. He stepped down as Commandant two months before the end of his four-year term, and was succeeded by General James T. Conway on November 13,...
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Daniel R. Hokanson

47. Daniel R. Hokanson

1963-. (aged 63)
aircraft pilot military personnel
Daniel Robert Hokanson is a retired United States Army general who last served as the 29th chief of the National Guard Bureau. He previously served as the 21st director of the Army National Guard. His previous military assignments include serving as vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, deputy commander of United States Northern Command, adjutant general of the Oregon...
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Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani

48. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani

1954-. (aged 72)
military personnel politician
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani is a Bahraini engineer and retired lieutenant general. He is the foreign minister, having formerly been the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) from 1 April 2011 to February 2020. He was the fifth persian gulf secretary general and the first with military background since the persian gulf was established.
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Frank M. Bradley

49. Frank M. Bradley

admiral
Frank Mitchell Bradley is a United States Navy admiral who has commanded the United States Special Operations Command since October 3, 2025.
Steven Sund

50. Steven Sund

memoirist police officer university teacher
Steven A. Sund is a retired American law enforcement official, author and public speaker. Sund was a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for 25 years, where he was commander of the force's Special Operations Division. He joined the U.S. Capitol Police in 2017, becoming its chief in 2019. He led the force during the January 6 Capitol attack,...
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Joseph W. Pfeifer

51. Joseph W. Pfeifer

1956-. (aged 70)
rescuer research fellow firefighter university teacher
Joseph W. Pfeifer is a retired American firefighter who served with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Pfeifer served as First Deputy Commissioner of the FDNY from February 2023 until September 2024, and as Acting Fire Commissioner of the FDNY in August 2024. Prior to his civilian work in the FDNY, Pfeifer was an Assistant Chief. He retired in...
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Keith B. Alexander

52. Keith B. Alexander

1951-. (aged 75)
spy soldier intelligence officer
Keith Brian Alexander is a retired four-star general of the United States Army, who served as director of the National Security Agency, chief of the Central Security Service, and commander of the United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence), United States Army from 2003 to 2005. He assumed the positions of Director...
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Chamlong Srimuang

53. Chamlong Srimuang

1935-. (aged 91)
military personnel activist politician
Chamlong Srimuang is a Thai activist and former politician. A former general, he was a leader of the "Young Turks" military clique, founded and led the Palang Dharma Party, served for six years as governor of Bangkok, led the anti-military uprising of May 1992, and is a prominent member of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group strongly opposed to...
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Richard F. Gordon

54. Richard F. Gordon

1929-2017 (aged 88)
chemist military officer test pilot screenwriter aircraft pilot
Richard Francis Gordon Jr. was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and a football executive. He was one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as command module pilot of the Apollo 12 mission, which orbited the Moon 45 times. Gordon had already flown in space as the pilot of the 1966 Gemini...
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Richard Marcinko

55. Richard Marcinko

1940-2021 (aged 81)
military officer writer sailor veteran radio personality
Richard Marcinko was a U.S. Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran. He was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six. After retiring from the United States Navy, he became an author, radio talk show host, military consultant, and motivational speaker.
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Marcos Pontes

56. Marcos Pontes

1963-. (aged 63)
politician writer fighter pilot engineer astronaut
Marcos Cesar Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force pilot, engineer, AEB astronaut, politician and author. He became the first South American and the first Lusophone to go into space when he docked onto the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on 30 March 2006. He is the only Brazilian to have completed the NASA astronaut training program, although he switched...
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Qamar Javed Bajwa

57. Qamar Javed Bajwa

1960-. (aged 66)
military officer
Qamar Javed Bajwa is a retired Pakistani four-star general who served as the tenth chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018, he was ranked 68th in the Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People.
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Matthew Dominick

58. Matthew Dominick

1981-. (aged 45)
test pilot engineer astronaut military personnel
Matthew Stuart Dominick is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. As a pilot in the United States Navy (USN), he has more than 1,600 hours of flight time in 28 aircraft, 400 carrier-arrested landings, 61 combat missions, and almost 200 flight test carrier landings. He was on the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Crew-8 mission from March to...
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Kent Rominger

59. Kent Rominger

1956-. (aged 70)
astronaut military officer
Kent Vernon "Rommel" Rominger is an American former astronaut, former NASA Chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center, and a captain in the United States Navy. Rominger holds the Space Shuttle Orbiter flight time record with 1610 hours. He joined ATK Launch Systems Group in 2006 as Vice President of Advanced Programs.
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John Herrington

60. John Herrington

1958-. (aged 68)
hydronaut astronaut United States Naval Aviator
John Bennett Herrington is a retired United States Naval Aviator, engineer and former NASA astronaut. In 2002, Herrington became the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe to fly in space.
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Joseph Weber

61. Joseph Weber

1919-2000 (aged 81)
physicist university teacher
Joseph Weber was an American physicist. He gave the earliest public lecture on the principles behind the laser and the maser and developed the first gravitational wave detectors, known as Weber bars.
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Cathy L. Lanier

62. Cathy L. Lanier

1967-. (aged 59)
chief of police police officer
Cathy Lynn Lanier is a former chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Lanier was appointed by Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty in January 2007, replacing outgoing police chief Charles H. Ramsey. She is the first woman to hold the position. In May 2012, Mayor Vincent C. Gray agreed to retain Lanier as police chief...
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Alan G. Poindexter

63. Alan G. Poindexter

1961-2012 (aged 51)
military officer aircraft pilot astronaut
Alan Goodwin Poindexter was an American naval officer and a NASA astronaut. Poindexter was selected in the 1998 NASA Group (G17) and went into orbit aboard Space Shuttle missions STS-122 and STS-131.
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James G. Roche

64. James G. Roche

1939-. (aged 87)
military officer
James Gerard Roche is an American politician. He served as the 20th Secretary of the Air Force, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2005. Prior to serving as secretary, Roche served in the United States Navy for 23 years, and as an executive with Northrop Grumman.
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Eugene Cernan

65. Eugene Cernan

1934-2017 (aged 83)
autobiographer military flight engineer fighter pilot naval officer naval aviator
Eugene Andrew Cernan was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot.
Robert Truax

66. Robert Truax

1917-2010 (aged 93)
military flight engineer military officer engineer
Captain Robert C. Truax was an American rocket engineer in the United States Navy, and companies such as Aerojet and Truax Engineering, which he founded. Truax was a proponent of low-cost rocket engine and vehicle designs.
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David C. Hilmers

67. David C. Hilmers

1950-. (aged 76)
physician engineer astronaut military officer
David Carl Hilmers is a former NASA astronaut who flew four Space Shuttle missions. He was born in Clinton, Iowa, but considers DeWitt, Iowa, to be his hometown. He has two grown sons. His recreational interests include playing the piano, gardening, electronics, spending time with his family, and all types of sports. His parents are deceased. With five academic degrees,...
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Michael López-Alegría

68. Michael López-Alegría

1958-. (aged 68)
astronaut
Michael López-Alegría is an astronaut, test pilot and commercial astronaut with dual nationality, American and Spanish; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission. He is known for having performed ten spacewalks so far in his career, presently holding the second longest all-time EVA duration record (first among NASA astronauts) and having the fifth-longest spaceflight...
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Carlos Del Toro

69. Carlos Del Toro

1961-. (aged 65)
politician naval officer
Carlos Del Toro is a Cuban-American entrepreneur and retired United States Navy officer who served as the 78th United States secretary of the Navy from 2021 to 2025. He is the second Hispanic American to serve as the Secretary of the Navy, after Edward Hidalgo.
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Ronald Evans

70. Ronald Evans

1933-1990 (aged 57)
military officer military flight engineer aircraft pilot engineer astronaut
Ronald Ellwin Evans Jr. was an American electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, officer and aviator in the United States Navy, and NASA astronaut. As Command Module Pilot on Apollo 17 he was one of the 24 astronauts to fly to the Moon, and one of 12 astronauts to fly to the Moon without landing.
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Michael J. Smith

71. Michael J. Smith

1945-1986 (aged 41)
naval officer test pilot astronaut
Michael John Smith, (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73 seconds into the flight, and at an altitude of 48,000 feet (14.6 km), killing all seven crew members. Smith's voice was the last one heard on the Challenger...
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Eric T. Olson

72. Eric T. Olson

1952-. (aged 74)
military officer
Eric Thor Olson is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the eighth Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 2, 2007 to August 8, 2011. He previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command from 2003 to July 2007. Olson was the first Navy SEAL ever to be appointed to three-star and four-star flag...
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William C. McCool

73. William C. McCool

1961-2003 (aged 42)
military flight engineer astronaut military officer aircraft pilot
William Cameron "Willie" McCool was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who was the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the atmosphere. McCool was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
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Michael Mullen

74. Michael Mullen

1946-. (aged 80)
military officer
Michael Glenn "Mike" Mullen is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2007 to September 2011.
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Hyman G. Rickover

75. Hyman G. Rickover

1900-1986 (aged 86)
submariner military officer
Hyman George Rickover was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors office. In addition, he oversaw the development of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor used for generating electricity. Rickover is...
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Arleigh Burke

76. Arleigh Burke

1901-1996 (aged 95)
military officer
Arleigh Albert Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.
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Jasmin Moghbeli

77. Jasmin Moghbeli

1983-. (aged 43)
test pilot helicopter pilot astronaut military officer
Jasmin Moghbeli is an American U.S. Marine Corps test pilot and NASA astronaut. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Naval Postgraduate School, and Naval Test Pilot School. Moghbeli was a mission commander for SpaceX Crew-7 and a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 69/70.
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Willis Winter Bradley

78. Willis Winter Bradley

1884-1954 (aged 70)
politician
Willis Winter Bradley Jr. was a mid-20th-century American Naval officer, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, Naval Governor of Guam, and a U.S. Representative from California.
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Michael T. Franken

79. Michael T. Franken

1957-. (aged 69)
politician military officer
Michael Thane Franken is an American retired United States Navy vice admiral. His final posting was as deputy director of military operations for the United States Africa Command. Franken was a Democratic candidate in the 2020 United States Senate election in Iowa, but lost the June 2 primary to Theresa Greenfield. Franken was the Democratic nominee for the 2022 United...
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John A. Gordon

80. John A. Gordon

1946-2020 (aged 74)
military officer
John Alexander Gordon was an American air force general who served as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He also served as the President's Homeland Security advisor from 2003 to 2004.
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Karl O. Thomas

81. Karl O. Thomas

1963-. (aged 63)
military officer
Karl Owen Thomas is a United States Navy admiral who serves as the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. He most recently served as the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and Director of Naval Intelligence.
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Stephen R. Lyons

82. Stephen R. Lyons

military personnel
Stephen R. Lyons is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the 13th commander of the United States Transportation Command from August 2018 to October 2021. He previously served as the commanding general of United States Army Combined Arms Support Command/Sustainment Center of Excellence as well as the senior mission commander for Fort Lee,...
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Joseph Maguire

83. Joseph Maguire

1951-. (aged 75)
executive military officer
Joseph Maguire is an American officer who served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Acting Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump. He retired from the United States Navy as a vice admiral in 2010 after 36 years of military service. Prior to retiring from active duty, he was the deputy director for strategic operational planning at...
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Robert F. Overmyer

84. Robert F. Overmyer

1936-1996 (aged 60)
military flight engineer astronaut military officer aircraft pilot
Robert Franklyn Overmyer was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut. Overmyer was selected by the Air Force as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966. Upon cancellation of the program in 1969, he became a NASA astronaut and served support crew duties for the Apollo program, Skylab...
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Edgar Mitchell

85. Edgar Mitchell

1930-2016 (aged 86)
military flight engineer military officer screenwriter aircraft pilot businessperson
Edgar Dean Mitchell was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, and was the sixth person to walk on the Moon. He was the second Freemason to...
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Christopher Ferguson

86. Christopher Ferguson

1961-. (aged 65)
engineer astronaut commercial astronaut military officer
Christopher J. "Fergy" Ferguson is a Boeing commercial astronaut and a retired United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He was the pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis on his first mission to space, STS-115, which launched on September 9, 2006, and returned to Earth on September 21, 2006. He then commanded STS-126 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. In 2011, he was...
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William H. McRaven

87. William H. McRaven

1955-. (aged 71)
military officer
William Harry McRaven is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he was the chancellor of The University of Texas System.
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John H. Miller

88. John H. Miller

1925-2025 (aged 100)
military personnel
John Harrison Miller was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps. A highly decorated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Miller completed his career as commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.
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Timothy D. Haugh

89. Timothy D. Haugh

1969-. (aged 57)
military leader
Timothy Dean Haugh is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the commander of the United States Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service from 2024 to 2025. He previously served as the deputy commander of the United States Cyber Command.
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Rick Saccone

90. Rick Saccone

1958-. (aged 68)
politician military officer
Richard Saccone is an American educator and far-right politician who represented Pennsylvania's 39th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2011 to 2018. A Republican, he was his party's nominee for the March 2018 special election to fill in the vacant U.S. House seat for the 18th congressional district. Saccone lost to Democratic candidate Conor Lamb by a margin...
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Daryl Caudle

91. Daryl Caudle

1963-. (aged 63)
military personnel
Daryl Lane Caudle is an admiral in the United States Navy who has served as the 34th chief of naval operations since 2025.
Samuel Paparo

92. Samuel Paparo

1964-. (aged 62)
military personnel
Samuel John Paparo Jr. is a United States Navy four-star admiral serving as the 27th Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, the nation’s oldest and largest geographic combatant command. A TOPGUN-trained naval aviator with combat experience spanning three decades, Paparo has commanded at every level from fighter squadron to combatant command, with the rare distinction of having led forces both...
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Jon McBride

93. Jon McBride

1943-2024 (aged 81)
fighter pilot military flight engineer astronaut military officer
Jon Andrew McBride was an American naval officer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NASA.
Lorna Mahlock

94. Lorna Mahlock

military personnel
Lorna M. Mahlock is a United States Marine Corps major general who has served as commander of the Cyber National Mission Force since January 5, 2024. Nominated by President Trump In 2018, she became the first Black woman to be nominated for promotion to brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps. In December 2022, she became the first black...
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Mark E. Mitchell

95. Mark E. Mitchell

1965-. (aged 61)
military personnel
Mark Edward Mitchell is a former official in the United States Department of Defense and a retired military officer.
David A. Clarke, Jr

96. David A. Clarke, Jr

1956-. (aged 70)
podcaster
David Alexander Clarke Jr. is an American former law enforcement official who served as Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2017.
Cihat Yaycı

97. Cihat Yaycı

1966-. (aged 60)
university teacher soldier writer
Cihat Yaycı is a Turkish author, former rear admiral, and theoretician of the irredentist and expansionist strategic–maritime doctrine known as "Blue Homeland".
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Eliezer Shkedi

98. Eliezer Shkedi

1957-. (aged 69)
air force officer
Aluf Eliezer "Eli" Shkedy is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force from 4 April 2004 until 13 May 2008. He is also a former CEO of El Al, the flag carrier of Israel.
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Bujar Nishani

99. Bujar Nishani

1966-2022 (aged 56)
jurist politician
Bujar Faik Nishani was an Albanian politician who served as President of Albania from 2012 to 2017.
Mark Kelly

100. Mark Kelly

1964-. (aged 62)
naval aviator writer naval officer test pilot astronaut
Major General Mark Andrew Kelly, AO, DSC is a former senior officer in the Australian Army. He served as Commander Joint Task Force 633 commanding all Australian Forces in the Middle East Area of Operations and Afghanistan from 12 January 2009 until 14 January 2010, and as Land Commander Australia from July 2005 to December 2008. He was appointed as...
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