Jacob L . Shuford Jacob Lawrence Shuford ( b . ? ) is a rear admiral of the United States Navy . His career has included service in the Cold War , Kosovo War , and Operation Desert Fox . He commanded surface combatant s , served on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations , the Joint Chiefs of Staff , and the Secretary of the Navy , coordinated Navy legislative activities in the United States Senate , and was President of the Naval War College . Naval career . Shuford was commissioned in 1974 from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps ( NROTC ) program at the University of South Carolina . He began his career at sea aboard the frigate , then served as the operations officer consecutively aboard the destroyer and aboard the guided - missile destroyer . He later commanded the missile hydrofoil , operating extensively throughout the Caribbean Sea , and the guided - missile frigate . Under his command , " Rodney M . Davis " was a Battle “ E ” winner as part of the Carrier Battle Group operating in the Western Pacific and the Persian Gulf . In January 1998 , Shuford assumed command of the guided - missile cruiser , deploying to the operating areas of the Fifth and Sixth Fleets with the Carrier Battle Group . While he was her commanding officer , " Gettysburg " played a prominent role in operations in the Adriatic Sea during the Kosovo crisis and in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998 , acting as Air Warfare Commander for dual carrier battle group operations by the and USS " Enterprise " ( CVN - 65 ) Carrier Battle Groups and successfully firing all 69 of the Tomahawk cruise missile s she was tasked to fire during strike operations . " Gettysburg " was awarded the Battle Efficiency " E " for Cruiser - Destroyer Group 12 . Shufords first shore tour was as the Operations and Plans Officer for Commander , Naval Forces Korea . In Washington , D . C . , he served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in OPNAV N86 , directing the Surface Combatant Force Level Study , and in OPNAV N3 / N5 as chief of staff for the Navys Roles and Missions Organization . He also served as speechwriter and Special Assistant to the United States Secretary of the Navy . On the Joint Staff , he led a division in the Force Structure , Resources , and Assessments Directorate ( J8 ) . From 1999 to 2001 , Shuford coordinated the Navys legislative efforts in the United States Senate , and was selected to flag rank in this assignment . His first flag tour was as the Navys " Head Detailer , " responsible for career development and assignment for the 370 , 000 personnel of the Navy . Shuford was selected as an Olmsted Scholar in 1979 , studying for two years in France at the Paris Institute of Political Science . He also received Master ' s Degrees in public administration from Harvard University with a concentration in finance and in national security studies and strategy from the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island , from which he graduated in 1991 with highest distinction . From 12 August 2004 to 6 November 2008 , Shuford served as the 51st President of the Naval War College , overseeing senior education and wargaming for the Navy . During his lengthy presidency , he directed an extensive restructuring of the colleges basic curriculum and initiated the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Course for flag officer s , the Maritime Staff Operators Course , and the Operational Planner Course . He led the college as it played the key role in designing the process for establishing a new national maritime strategy and in providing the geostrategic analysis to support it . He reinstituted Title 10 wargaming and initiated concept - development efforts to explore important warfare issues such as maritime ballistic missile defense , antisubmarine warfare , homeland defense organization , and the command and control of maritime forces . He also engaged in extensive diplomacy to establish an international network of naval colleges that could collaborate on the study of maritime security issues .