O'Donnell, promoted to a two-star rear admiral in 1957, served as commander of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base from December 1960 to December 1962, and was serving on the base during the Cuban missile crisis. In April 1961, he commanded the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base during the covert Bay of Pigs invasion. J. W. Davis assumed command of Guantanamo from O'Donnell on December 22, 1962, in a change of command ceremony held at the base's golf course.