Benjamin Thurman Hacker Rear Admiral Benjamin Thurman Hacker ( 1935 – 2003 ) was a U . S . Navy officer , who became the first Naval Flight Officer ( NFO ) to achieve Flag rank . Early life . Hacker was born September 19 , 1935 in Washington , D . C . His father , C . Leroy Hacker , was an author , Baptist pastor and a chaplain in the U . S . Army . His mother , Alzeda ( Crockett ) Hacker , was an accomplished musician . Of their three children , Benjamin was the eldest . Benjamin attended Wittenberg University in Springfield , Ohio , graduating in 1957 with a B . A . Degree in Science . He married his wife , Jeanne , in 1958 . Naval Service . After completing the Navy ' s Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola , Florida in September 1958 , Hacker was commissioned Ensign and subsequently received the designation of Naval Aviation Observer ( NAO ) . Hacker gained experience as a Navigator and Tactical Coordinator in SP - 2H " Neptune " and P - 3C " Orion " aircraft through numerous operational assignments in the far reaches of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Mediterranean Sea . He took command of the U . S . Naval Facility , Barbados , West Indies on July 2 , 1968 . In 1972 , he established the Naval ROTC Unit at Florida A & M University , in Tallahassee , Florida and served as the first Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science of this unit . In 1974 he became Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron TWENTY - FOUR ( VP - 24 ) , a P - 3C " Orion " Squadron stationed in Jacksonville , Florida and was promoted to Captain following his squadron command tour . In June 1978 , he completed studies in National Security Policy at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces , and earned a Masters of Science Degree in Administration from George Washington University in Washington , D . C . In August 1978 , he was assigned as Commanding Officer , Naval Air Station , Brunswick , Maine . In 1980 , then - Captain Hacker was selected for promotion to Rear Admiral and assumed duties as Commander , U . S . Military Enlistment Processing Command with headquarters in Fort Sheridan , Illinois . In 1982 , he became Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean ; Commander Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Forces , U . S . Sixth Fleet ; and Commander Maritime Air Forces Mediterranean simultaneously with headquarters in Naples , Italy . In 1986 , he was assigned as Commander , Naval Training Center , San Diego . During this assignment he was also assigned Commander , Naval Base San Diego . He held both commands simultaneously for several months . In 1988 , at the completion of his assignment as Commander , Naval Base San Diego , Rear Admiral Hacker retired from the U . S . Navy . Rear Admiral Hacker was the first Naval Flight Officer ( NFO ) to be selected for Flag rank in the United States Navy . He held ten commands over the course of his 30 - year military career . Included among Rear Admiral Hacker ' s personal decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Legion of Merit with three Gold Stars , and the Meritorious Service Medal . On November 3 , 2005 , the " Commander , Task Force 67 " headquarters building located in Sigonella , Sicily was dedicated in his honor . Civilian . After retiring from the Navy , Rear Admiral Hacker worked at financial - services firm USAA as assistant vice president for policy service , at the organization ' s western regional office in Sacramento . In the early 1990s , at the request of then - Governor Pete Wilson , Hacker served for two years as director of the California Department of Veterans Affairs and then rejoined USAA as regional vice president and general manager of its western region . He moved to San Antonio in his next post in December 1995 . Hacker also held posts as Regional Senior Vice President / General Manager in the company ' s Mid - Atlantic Region headquartered in Norfolk , Virginia . Rear Admiral Hacker retired from USAA in 1998 but continued to serve on various local and national Boards . On December 28 , 2003 , Rear Admiral Hacker died from complications relating to Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ( CLL ) , a disease which he battled for 12 years . External links . Dedicated Sites / Pages Honorable Mention Articles Events