The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is the senior military officer in the United States Navy. The CNO is an admiral (four-star) and is responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for the command, utilization of resources and operating efficiency of the operating forces of the Navy and of the Navy shore activities assigned by the Secretary. The CNO has administrative, rather than operational command authority over United States naval forces. The operational chain of command runs from the Secretary of Defense directly to the combatant commanders, who have command authority over all military forces in their region. This structure, in which the service chiefs are responsible for personnel and readiness issues, while the combatant commanders are operationally responsible for the command of the military forces, is intended to allow the United States military the ability to function as a coherent whole.

A member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CNO is the principal naval advisor to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Navy on the conduct of war, and is the principal advisor and naval executive to the Secretary on the conduct of naval activities of the United States Department of the Navy. Assistants are the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), the Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations (DCNOs) and a number of other ranking officers. These officers and their staffs are collectively known as the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OpNav).

List of CNOs

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•	Admiral William S. Benson		(May 11 1915	–   September 25 1919)
•	Admiral Robert E. Coontz		(November 1 1919	–   July 21 1923)
•	Admiral Edward W. Eberle		(July 21 1923	–   November 14 1927)
•	Admiral Charles F. Hughes		(November 14 1927	–   September 17 1930)
•	Admiral William V. Pratt		(September 17 1930	–   June 30 1933)
•	Admiral William H. Standley		(July 1 1933	–   January 1 1937)
•	Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy		(January 2 1937	–   August 1 1939)
•	Admiral Harold R. Stark		(August 1 1939	–   March 2 1942)
•	Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King		(March 2 1942	–   December 15 1945)
•	Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz		(December 15 1945	–   December 15 1947)
•	Admiral Louis E. Denfeld		(December 15 1947	–   November 2 1949)
•	Admiral Forrest P. Sherman		(November 2 1949	–   July 22 1951)
•	Admiral William M. Fechteler		(August 16 1951	–   August 17 1953)
•	Admiral Robert B. Carney		(August 17 1953	–   August 17 1955)
•	Admiral Arleigh A. Burke		(August 17 1955	–   August 1 1961)
•	Admiral George W. Anderson Jr.		(August 1 1961	–   August 1 1963)
•	Admiral David L. McDonald		(August 1 1963	–   August 1 1967)
•	Admiral Thomas H. Moorer		(August 1 1967	–   July 1 1970)
•	Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt		(July 1 1970	–   June 29 1974)
•	Admiral James L. Holloway, III		(June 29 1974	–   July 1 1978)
•	Admiral Thomas B. Hayward		(July 1 1978	–   June 30 1982)
•	Admiral James D. Watkins		(June 30 1982	–   June 30 1986)
•	Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost		(July 1 1986	–   June 29 1990)
•	Admiral Frank B. Kelso II		(June 29 1990	–   April 23 1994)
•	Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda		(April 23 1994	–   May 16 1996)
•	Admiral Jay L. Johnson		(May 16 1996	–   July 21 2000)
•	Admiral Vern Clark		(July 21 2000	–   July 22 2005)
•	Admiral Michael Mullen		(July 22 2005	–       present)

References

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• Chief of Naval Operations: Responsibilites, USN.
• Chiefs of Naval Operations, Naval Historical Center

United States Navy | Joint Chiefs of Staff | Chief of Naval Operations | Chief of Naval Operations