William James Crowe Jr. (January 2, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under President Bill Clinton. Early life and education Crowe was born in La Grange, Kentucky on January 2, 1925. At the beginning of the Great Depression, Crowe's father moved the family to Oklahoma City. In June 1946, Crowe completed a war-accelerated course of study and graduated with the Class of 1947 from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Career From 1954 to 1955, Crowe served as assistant to the naval aide of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. From 1956 to 1958, Crowe served as executive officer of the submarine (SS-565). In 1958, he served as an aide to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. In 1960, Crowe took command of (SS-566), homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, and served as commanding officer of that ship until 1962. From there, Crowe earned a master's degree in education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. After turning down an invitation from Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to enter the Navy's nuclear power program, Crowe earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University in 1965 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "The policy roots of the modern Royal Navy 1946-1963." During the Vietnam War he was the senior adviser to the Vietnamese Riverine Force. In 1969, he took command of Submarine Division 31, homeported in San Diego, California. A long string of assignments followed: 1967 – Head of East Asia Pacific Branch, Politico-Military Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 1970 – Senior adviser to the Vietnamese Navy Riverine Force 1973 – promoted to rear admiral and named Deputy Director, Strategic Plans, Policy, Nuclear Systems, and NSC Affairs Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 1975 – Director, East Asia and Pacific Region, Office of the Secretary of Defense 1976 – Commander, Middle East Force (COMMIDEASTFOR) 1977 – promoted to vice admiral and named Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Policy and Operations 1980 – promoted to admiral and named Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH) 1983 – as CINCSOUTH, named Commander-in-Chief, United States Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR) 1983 – Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Command (CINCPAC) On