James D. Watkins
| Admiral the Honorable James D. Watkins |
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|---|---|
Watkins as Secretary of Energy 1989-1993
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| 6th United States Secretary of Energy | |
| In office March 1, 1989 – January 20, 1993 |
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| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | John Herrington |
| Succeeded by | Hazel O'Leary |
| Chief of Naval Operations | |
| In office June 30, 1982 – June 30, 1986 |
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| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Thomas Hayward |
| Succeeded by | Carlisle Trost |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James David Watkins March 7, 1927 Alhambra, California, U.S. |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sheila Jo McKinney Watkins (first wife; 1950 - 1996, her death) Janet McDonough Watkins |
| Children | Katherine Watkins Coopersmith Charlie Watkins Laura Jo Watkins Susan Watkins James David Watkins, Jr. Edward Francis Watkins |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy Naval Postgraduate School |
| Awards | Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star (Valor)" Navy Commendation Medal Navy Expeditionary Medal China Service Medal WWII Victory Medal Navy Occupation Service Medal National Defense Service Medal (2) Vietnam Service Medal (5) United Nations Korea Medal Vietnam Campaign Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America Years of Service: 1949-1986 |
| Service/branch |  United States Navy |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | Chief of Naval Operations |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
James David Watkins (March 7, 1927 – July 26, 2012) was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the U.S. 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 Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
Contents
Early life and career
Watkins was born March 7, 1927 in Alhambra, California. His grandfather George Clinton Ward was president of Southern California Edison during the 1930s. His father, Edward Francis Watkins, owned the Southern California Winery Co. His mother, Louise Watkins, unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Senate in 1938; he described his mother as "a woman ahead of her time."[1]
He attended Webb School of California in Claremont, California; he subsequently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949 and received his master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1958.
He spent 37 years in the Navy, serving on destroyers, cruisers and submarines, and shore assignments in personnel management. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat 'V' as a result of combat operations that occurred in May and June of 1968, in the Gulf of Tonkin, while serving as executive officer of USS Long Beach (CGN-9). In those operations, the ship participated in events leading to the shoot-down of five North Vietnamese MiG aircraft, two by long range surface-to-air missiles (first in US Naval History) and three by air intercept with her air controllers.[2]
During his tenure in the U.S. Navy, Watkins served as Chief of Naval Operations, Commander of the Sixth Fleet, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.
Watkins married Sheila Jo McKinney in 1950. They had six children: Laura Jo Kauffmann; Charles Watkins; Katherine Watkins Coopersmith, RNCS; Edward Francis Watkins, a successful internet entrepreneur; Susan Watkins, a nuclear engineer; and Catholic priest Monsignor James D. Watkins, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Northeast Washington D.C.
Oceans work
Admiral Watkins's ties to oceans as a graduate of the Naval Academy, submariner and former Chief of Naval Operations, contributed to his commitment to ocean policy reform. When the Oceans Act of 2000 was passed, President George W. Bush established the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and appointed Admiral Watkins to chair the commission. The 16-member commission presented recommendations for a new and comprehensive national ocean policy. Their final report, An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century, was released in 2004.
Concurrently, the Pew Charitable Trusts established the Pew Oceans Commission, which was led by President Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. The 18-member group presented its own recommendations on ocean policy to Congress and the Administration. Their final report, America's Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change, was released in 2003.
The two reports listed strikingly similar recommendations. As a result, Congress and the Administration began to recognize the importance of ocean policy reform. To further these recommendations, and to act as one unified force, the two commissions came together in 2004 to establish the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. Admiral Watkins co-chaired the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative with Leon Panetta, and was called on as an expert to advise and testify before Congress on ocean governance reform. He was also cited in the media as an expert on ocean issues and penned a number of opinion pieces calling for ocean reform that were published in national outlets.[3][4][5]
Reagan Administration
President Reagan appointed Watkins as chairman of his President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic. The Admiral won the support of many AIDS-awareness advocates when his conservative panel unexpectedly recommended supporting antibias laws to protect HIV-positive people, on-demand treatment for drug addicts, and the speeding of AIDS-related research.[citation needed]
George H. W. Bush Administration
On March 9, 1989, Watkins was sworn in as Secretary of Energy by President George Bush. He remained as Energy Secretary until 1993.
On June 27, 1989, Watkins announced the Ten-Point Plan to strengthen environmental protection and waste management activities at the United States Department of Energy's production, research, and testing facilities. In September 1989, he established the Modernization Review Committee to review the assumptions and recommendations of the 2010 Report. On November 9, 1989, Watkins established the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management within the Department of Energy. On August 15, 1990, Secretary Watkins announced plans to increase oil production and decrease consumption to counter Iraqi-Kuwaiti oil losses caused by the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait. On March 4, 1991, he transmitted the Administration's energy bill to the House and Senate. On May 10, 1992, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee he reported that, for the first time since 1945, the United States was not building any nuclear weapons.
George W. Bush Administration
Admiral Watkins was appointed to what would be the second Presidential commission to be known as the Watkins Commission when named Chairman of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy in 2001.
Death
He died of congestive heart failure on July 26, 2012, at the age of 85.[1][6] He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[citation needed]
Awards
He received the Presidential Citizens Medal, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two gold award stars, Bronze Star with Combat V device, China Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign stars, and has been decorated and honored by several other nations including receiving the United Nations Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and decorations from Brazil, Korea, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Pakistan and Sweden.
In March 2001, Watkins was given the title of President Emeritus of the Consortium for Ocean Research and Education (CORE), and was awarded the Navy's Distinguished Public Award by the Secretary of the Navy. On April 21, 2005, the Naval Postgraduate Mechanical Engineering Building was renamed Watkins Hall, after Admiral James D. Watkins. Watkins was also a member of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Hall of Fame.[7]
In 1983, Watkins was inducted as a Knight of Malta. In 1991 he was awarded the AAES Chairs' Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies.[8]
Political positions
Watkins' important positions within the United States Government include:
- Chief of Naval Operations during part of the Reagan Administration (1982-1986)
- Chairman of the Watkins Commission on AIDS (1987-1988)
- Secretary of Energy (1989 - 1993)
- Chairman of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy (also known as the Watkins Commission) (2001-2004)
He has also served several non-Governmental roles:
- Co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI) (2004-)
- A Director of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc. (1993 - 2000)
- A Director of GTS Duratek since April 1997
- A Director of Southern California Edison Co.
- A Director of International Technology Corp.
- A Director of Philadelphia Electric Co.
- A Director of VESTAR Inc.
- Trustee, Carnegie Corporation of New York (1993-1998)
- President of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (1994-March 2001)
- Member, Naval Academy Endowment Trust Board of Directors
- Life Member, USNA Alumni Association
- Member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle - Why doesn't U.S. join Law of the Sea treaty?
- ↑ Washington Post - U.S. Gets a C- on Protecting Oceans
- ↑ New York Times - America and the Sea Treaty
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.nps.edu/Alumni/HallofFameandDistinguished/NewHallofFame.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- James David Watkins; A Compassionate Pragmatist, New York Times profile, June 4, 1988
- "Frustrated Admiral of Energy", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan/Feb 1990
External links
- Bio at NPR
- Joint Ocean Commission Initiative web site
- Dept. of Energy web site
- Naval Postgraduate School - Hall of Fame Recipients
- Oral History Project of The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, Transcript of the Videotape-Recorded Interview with James D. Watkins, May 11, 2000; Interviewer: Gary Weir.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief of Naval Operations 1982–1986 |
Succeeded by Carlisle Trost |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Energy 1989–1993 |
Succeeded by Hazel O'Leary |
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- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2014
- 1927 births
- 2012 deaths
- Chiefs of Naval Operations
- California Republicans
- Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- United States Naval Academy alumni
- Vice Chiefs of Naval Operations
- People from Alhambra, California
- George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members
- United States Secretaries of Energy
- Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
- Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
- Knights of Malta
- James Cardinal Gibbons Medal winners
