Carlisle Trost Admiral Carlisle Albert Herman Trost , USN ( born April 24 , 1930 in Valmeyer , Illinois ) is a retired United States Navy officer who served as the Navy ' s twenty - third Chief of Naval Operations ( CNO ) and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1 July 1986 to 29 June 1990 . He oversaw the Navy during the end of the Cold War , and the preparations for the first Persian Gulf War ( 1991 ) . He retired from active naval service on 1 July 1990 , following completion of a four - year term as CNO . Naval career . He graduated first in his U . S . Naval Academy Class of 1953 and was commissioned as an Ensign . He volunteered and was accepted to begin submarine training in 1954 and once again graduated first in his class from Submarine School in New London , CT . During his more than thirty - seven years of commissioned service , Admiral Trost served at sea in destroyers and diesel - powered and nuclear submarines , including tours as executive officer of two nuclear - powered submarines and as commanding officer of a Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine . After selection to Flag Rank in 1973 , he commanded Submarine Flotilla One / Submarine Group FIVE . Later operational assignments included deputy commander , U . S . Pacific Fleet ; commander , Seventh Fleet ( 1980 – 1981 ) ; Commander - in - Chief , U . S . Atlantic Fleet ( 1985 – 1986 ) , and deputy commander , U . S . Atlantic Command . Ashore . He served as military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense , executive assistant to the Secretary of the Navy , and on the Navy Staff as Director , Systems Analysis Division , Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel and Director , Navy Program Planning . In May 1986 , Trost was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to succeed Admiral James D . Watkins as Chief of Naval Operations . Trost served as CNO from July 1 , 1986 to June 29 , 1990 . He was succeeded by Admiral Frank B . Kelso . Awards and honors . Admiral Trost ' s decorations and awards include seven Distinguished Service Medal s ( two Defense DSMs , three Navy DSMs , one Army DSM , one Air Force DSM ) , the Legion of Merit ( three awards ) , the Navy Achievement Medal , numerous campaign and service awards , and personal decorations from a number of foreign nations , including Japan ' s Order of the Rising Sun ( 2nd Class with Gold and Silver Star ) and the Republic of Korea ' s Order of National Security Merit Gugseon Medal . Trost is an Olmsted Scholar . He is active in the Boy Scouts of America as an adult , an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award . Organizational affiliations . He was recognized as a distinguished graduate of the U . S . Naval Academy and has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association , as well as President of the Class of ' 53 . A classmate and another past President of the Class of ' 53 is Texas businessman and former presidential candidate H . Ross Perot . Post - Navy career and family life . Since his retirement from the Navy , Admiral Trost has served on the boards of directors of a number of U . S . corporations . He served as Chairman of the Board of the U . S . Naval Academy Alumni Association in a term that ended in Spring 2009 . He has four children and six grandchildren .