William J . Fallon William Joseph Fallon ( born December 30 , 1944 ) is a retired United States Navy four - star admiral who retired after serving for over 41 years . His last military assignment was as Commander , U . S . Central Command from March 2007 to March 2008 . ADM Fallon was the first Navy officer to hold that position . His other four - star assignments include Commander , U . S . Pacific Command from February 2005 to March 2007 , Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command from October 2003 to February 2005 , and 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations from October 2000 to August 2003 . On March 11 , 2008 , he announced his resignation from CENTCOM and retirement from active duty , citing administrative complications caused in part by an article in " Esquire Magazine , " which described him as the only thing standing between the Bush Administration and war with Iran . Early life and education . Fallon was born in East Orange , New Jersey and raised in Merchantville , New Jersey . He earned a diploma from Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill , New Jersey . A 1967 graduate of Villanova University , he received his commission through the Navy ROTC Program and was designated a Naval Flight Officer upon completion of flight training in December 1967 . Fallon is a graduate of the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island , and the National War College in Washington , D . C . He holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Studies from Old Dominion University . Admiral Fallon was awarded the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award in 2001 and granted an honorary Doctor of Military Science degree by his alma mater , Villanova University , on May 17 , 2009 . Military service . After flight training at NAS Pensacola , Florida and NAS Glynco , Georgia , Fallon began his operational Naval Aviation career flying in the RA - 5C Vigilante at NAS Sanford , Florida and NAS Albany , Georgia , including a combat deployment to Vietnam . He then transitioned to the A - 6E Intruder in 1974 at NAS Oceana , Virginia . All told , he served in flying assignments for 24 years with Reconnaissance Attack Squadrons ( RVAH ) , Attack Squadrons ( VA ) and Carrier air wing s ( CVW ) , deploying to the Pacific , Atlantic and Indian Oceans and Mediterranean Sea , embarked in , , , and . He has logged more than 1 , 300 carrier arrested landings and over 4 , 800 flight hours in tactical jet aircraft . Fallon commanded Attack Squadron 65 ( " The World Famous Fighting Tigers " ) , embarked in " Dwight D . Eisenhower " , Medium Attack Wing One at NAS Oceana , Virginia , and Carrier Air Wing Eight aboard " Theodore Roosevelt " during a combat deployment to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm in 1991 . Assigned as Commander , Carrier Group Eight in 1995 , he deployed to the Mediterranean as Commander , " Theodore Roosevelt " Battle Group and commanded Battle Force Sixth Fleet ( CTF 60 ) during NATO s combat Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia . Admiral Fallon served as Commander , U . S . Second Fleet and Commander , Striking Fleet Atlantic from November 1997 to September 2000 . Shore duties included assignment as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander , Fleet Air Jacksonville , and to the staffs of Commander , Reconnaissance Attack Wing One ; Commander , Operational Test Force , and Commander , Naval Air Force , U . S . Atlantic Fleet . He has served as Deputy Director for Operations , Joint Task Force Southwest Asia ( JTF - SWA ) in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia , and as Deputy Director , Aviation Plans and Requirements on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington , D . C . His first flag officer assignment was with NATO as Assistant Chief of Staff , Plans and Policy for Supreme Allied Commander , Atlantic . He was then assigned as Deputy and Chief of Staff , U . S . Atlantic Fleet followed by assignment as Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff , U . S . Atlantic Command . Nominated for his fourth star , he became the 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations in October 2000 . In February 2001 , while serving as Vice Chief of Naval Operations , Fallon was sent to Japan as a Presidential Special Envoy to apologize for the submarine ' s collision with the Ehime Maru . In 2002 he testified before the U . S . Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Committee that the military should be exempted from certain environmental laws because the laws impacted the military ' s ability to conduct operations at its bases . He was then nominated and confirmed for assignment as the Commander , U . S . Fleet Forces Command and U . S . Atlantic Fleet from October 2003 to February 2005 during that time he was assigned to Operation Iraqi Freedom . Following that , he was Commander , U . S . Pacific Command from February 2005 until March 2007 ; his assignment was his third four star assignment , a rarity for military officers . During his tenure as head of the U . S . Pacific Command , Fallon took a conciliatory approach towards China , a position that drew the ire of hardliners including " Washington Times " reporter Bill Gertz . United States Central Command . On January 4 , 2007 , President Bush nominated Fallon for his fourth four - star command to replace John Abizaid , who was retiring from the U . S . Army , as Commander of the United States Central Command , ( CENTCOM ) . The United States Senate confirmed Admiral Fallon as the first Navy admiral to command CENTCOM on February 7 . He relieved General Abizaid on 16 March 2007 . As combatant commander of Central Command , Fallon was General David Petraeus ' s superior officer , who was at that time the commander of Multinational Force Iraq . Petraeus succeeded Fallon as CENTCOM commander , relieving the " Acting " CENTCOM Commander , then - Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey on October 31 , 2008 . As CENTCOM commander , Fallon often criticized Iran while also encouraging negotiations . On May 28 , 2007 , he noted that the United States would continue to have a military presence in the Middle East , despite Iran wishing otherwise . However , he also said , " We have to figure out a way to come to an arrangement with them [ Iran ] " . In an Al - Jazeera broadcast on September 30 , 2007 , he criticized those publicly urging war , stating " This constant drum beat of conflict is what strikes me which is not helpful and not useful . [ . . . ] I expect that there will be no war and that is what we ought to be working for . " He also stated that Iran was not as strong as it claimed , " Not militarily , economically or politically . " and he referred to Iranians as ants , " These guys are ants . When the time comes , you crush them . " On March 11 , 2008 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the resignation of Fallon as CENTCOM Commander . He stated that Fallon ' s reason for resigning centered on the controversy regarding a recent article in " Esquire " magazine which depicted him as openly criticizing the Bush administration with specific regard to American policy towards Iran . After his widely publicized resignation , interpreted as opposition to military action against Iran , the conservative " The Washington Times " countered with a report that Fallon ' s active and retired military critics believed that he was " pushed to resign " by higher officials because " he failed to prevent foreign fighters and munitions from entering Iraq " . After his resignation as CENTCOM commander , he retired from military service . Post service life . Fallon joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) Center for International Studies as a Robert Wilhelm Fellow for nine months , starting August 2008 . He will collaborate with the MIT community in research , seminars , conferences and other intellectual projects . Fallon was the commencement speaker at the 2009 commencement ceremonies at his alma mater , Villanova University . He also was the 2009 commencement speaker for the University of California , San Diego ' s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies . Starting in June 2009 , Admiral Fallon served as co - chair of the Center for Strategic & International Studies Commission on Smart Global Health Policy alongside the President and CEO of CARE , Helene D . Gayle where he discussed his experiences with the security dimensions of global health . Admiral Fallon contributed in multiple conferences and policy discussions and attended a summer tour of Kenya that included the Kibera slums . At a global health event in the North Carolina Research Triangle , Admiral Fallon gave the keynote address : I spent more than 40 years of my life serving in the U . S . Navy , serving around the world , as well as Commander of both U . S . Pacific Command and U . S . Central Command . When I was a student at the U . S . Naval War College , security was defined in very traditional terms . It was the business of competing sovereign state actors with defined borders who pursue hard national interests . Working on the ground in the far corners of the world , however , I came to appreciate that security today is much more about basic day - to - day existence - it ' s primarily about the security of the individual . Included in this , the way people relate to each other , their families , their jobs and their communities . It is broader and far more personal than traditional notions of security . And at the heart of human security is health . Admiral Fallon joined Tilwell Petroleum LLC in August , 2009 as a partner and advisor for the company ' s strategic business development program . " We are excited to have Admiral Fallon join our team at Tilwell , " said Tony Cardwell , Managing Member of Tilwell . " Admiral Fallon ' s extensive experience in the Navy and his work with government and non - governmental agencies is a great addition to Tilwell as we continue to expand our customer base and support for both military and commercial applications . " Admiral Fallon was named chief executive officer of NeuralIQ Government Services , Inc . in March 2010 .