Robert F . Willard Robert Frederick " Bob " Willard ( born December 5 , 1950 ) is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the 22nd Commander , U . S . Pacific Command from October 19 , 2009 to March 9 , 2012 . He previously served as Commander , U . S . Pacific Fleet from May 8 , 2007 to September 25 , 2009 . Prior to that , he served as the 34th Vice Chief of Naval Operations from March 18 , 2005 to April 2007 . On March 9 , 2012 , Admiral Willard retired from the Navy after 39 years of service . On May 9 , 2012 , he was elected president and chief executive officer of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations , succeeding retired Navy admiral James O . Ellis , Jr . Navy career . Willard is a Los Angeles native . In 1969 , he graduated from East Longmeadow High School in East Longmeadow , Massachusetts and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1973 . He also holds a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University and was a fellow at MIT ' s Seminar XXI . An F - 14 naval aviator , Willard served consecutively in Fighter Squadron 24 ( VF - 24 ) , Fighter Squadron 124 ( VF - 124 ) , and Fighter Squadron 2 ( VF - 2 ) at NAS Miramar , deploying aboard , , and . He then joined Navy Fighter Weapons School Top Gun as Operations Officer and Executive Officer , as well as aerial coordinator for the Paramount film " Top Gun " . In 1987 , Willard reported to Fighter Squadron 51 ( VF - 51 ) , where he served as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the Screaming Eagles , embarked in USS Carl Vinson ( CVN - 70 ) . He subsequently attended Navy Nuclear Power Training before rejoining Carl Vinson as Executive Officer . Willard then commanded the flagships and in various operations including Somalia , and the Persian Gulf . As a flag officer , Willard has served on the Joint Staff as Deputy Director for Operations ( Current Readiness and Capabilities ) ; Commander , Carrier Group Five embarked in ; Deputy and Chief of Staff , Commander in Chief , U . S . Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii ; Commander , Seventh Fleet , embarked in in Yokosuka , Japan ; and Director for Force Structure , Resources and Assessment ( DJ8 ) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff . From March 2005 to April 2007 , Willard was the 34th Vice Chief of Naval Operations . After , he was the commander of U . S . Pacific Fleet from May 8 , 2007 until September 25 , 2009 when he was relieved by Admiral Patrick M . Walsh . As the Commander , U . S . Pacific Fleet , he was responsible for the world ’ s largest fleet command , encompassing and more than 170 ships and submarines , 1 , 300 aircraft , and 122 , 000 Sailors , Reservists and civilians . Popular culture . Willard appeared in and was a consultant for the 1986 film " Top Gun " . He pilots the Mig - 28 that receives " the bird " from Goose and Maverick . His callsign is " Rat , " and his podcast is called the Rat - Pac Report . In March 2010 , a video in which Rep . Hank Johnson expressed his concern to Willard that the island of Guam might " capsize " and " tip over " went viral , garnering hundreds of thousands of views from thehill . com , hotair . com and latimes . com and was ultimately seen over three millions times . Willard reassured the Congressman , " we don ' t anticipate that , " for which he received wide popular admiration .