James Lyons ( Admiral ) James Aloysius " Ace " Lyons , Jr . ( born September 28 , 1927 ) is a retired Admiral in the United States Navy whose 36 - year career was capped by serving as Commander , U . S . Pacific Fleet from 16 September 1985 to 30 September 1987 . He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of LION Associates LLC . Biography . As an Officer of the U . S . Navy for thirty - six years , most recently as Commander in Chief of the U . S . Pacific Fleet , the largest single military command in the world , his initiatives contributed directly to the economic stability and humanitarian understanding in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and brought the U . S . Navy Fleet back to China . He also served as Senior U . S . Military Representative to the United Nations . As the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations from 1983 – 1985 , he was principal advisor on all Joint Chiefs of Staff matters and was the father of the Navy Red Cell , an anti - terrorism group composed of Navy Seals he established in response to the Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut . Admiral Lyons was also Commander of the U . S . Second Fleet and Commander of the NATO Striking Fleet which were the principal fleets for implementing the Maritime Strategy . Admiral Lyons has represented U . S . interests with military and civilian leadership worldwide – including China , Japan and other Pacific Rim countries , the European continent and Russia . As Fleet Commander he managed a budget of over $ 5 billion and controlled a force of 250 , 000 personnel . Key assignments preceding Flag rank included Chief of Staff , Commander Carrier Group Four , Commanding Officer , USS Richmond K . Turner ( CG - 20 ) and Commanding Officer , USS Charles S . Sperry ( DD697 ) . He has been recognized for his distinguished service by the United States and several foreign governments . He is a graduate of the U . S . Naval Academy and has received post graduate degrees from the U . S . Naval War College and the U . S . National Defense University . Admiral Lyons has given numerous lectures , speeches and interviews nationally and internationally . He also has written articles for the Naval War College Review and Naval Institute Proceedings along with other national and international journals . On 19 February 2010 , Andrew Sullivan quoted Lyons at the CPAC conference in Washington as saying : " " You know in the Navy in the late nineteen hundreds , homosexuality was rampant in the United States Navy . It was so bad that mothers would not let their sons enlist in the Navy until the Navy cleaned its act up . . . On board ship the Navy found that there are three things unacceptable to good order and discipline and its impact on readiness . You cannot have a thief aboard , you cannot have a drug - user or a drug - pusher and we found out you could not have a homosexual . " " Lyons has written that the Zumwalt class destroyer would be a way to preempt the threat of China ' s Anti - ship ballistic missile ; " Mr . Gates should consider eliminating the LCS program as a failed experiment , and the Navy should join with the Coast Guard in a common hull . The money saved ( $ 3 - plus billion ) should be reinvested in providing an anti - ship ballistic - missile defense for the Zumwalt - class destroyer at an estimated cost of $ 500 million per ship . The Zumwalt was built from the keel up to be stealthy , have sufficient power and cooling , and have space to accommodate the latest dual - band radars and current and future weapon systems . An anti - ballistic - missile - equipped Zumwalt would be capable of pre - empting the Chinese and Iranian ASBM threat , thereby ensuring our capability to operate in any contested area and carry out our strategic objectives . In the same article he also addressed the continuing cost overruns and the limitations of the Close - in weapon system on the Littoral combat ship , which had switched to the more advanced SeaRAM system five years beforehand . On 14 November 2012 , Lyons speculated that the death of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi was the result of a bungled attempt to have Stevens kidnapped by Ansar al - Sharia to facilitate a prisoner exchange resulting in the release of Omar Abdel - Rahman .