the United States was not building any nuclear weapons. George W. Bush Administration Watkins was appointed to what would be the second Presidential commission to be known as the "Watkins Commission" when named Chairman of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy in 2001. Death Watkins died of congestive heart failure on July 26, 2012, at the age of 85. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Awards and decorations U.S. military awards and decorations U.S. civilian awards Foreign awards Watkins also received decorations from Italy, France, Spain, Pakistan and Sweden. In March 2001, Watkins was given the title of President Emeritus of the Consortium for Ocean Research and Education (CORE), and was awarded the Navy's Distinguished Public Award by the Secretary of the Navy. On April 21, 2005, the Naval Postgraduate Mechanical Engineering Building was renamed Watkins Hall, after Watkins. He was also a member of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Hall of Fame. In June 1983, Watkins was inducted as a Knight of Malta. In 1991 he was awarded the AAES Chairs' Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies. Political positions Watkins' positions within the United States Government include: Chief of Naval Operations during part of the Reagan Administration (1982–1986) Chairman of the Watkins Commission on AIDS (1987–1988) Secretary of Energy (1989–1993) Chairman of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy (also known as the Watkins Commission) (2001–2004) He has also served several non-Governmental roles: Co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI) (2004–) A Director of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc. (1993–2000) A Director of GTS Duratek since April 1997 A Director of Southern California Edison Co. A Director of International Technology Corp. A Director of Philadelphia Electric Co. A Director of VESTAR Inc. Trustee, Carnegie Corporation of New York (1993–1998) President of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (1994 – March 2001) Member, Naval Academy Endowment Trust Board of Directors Life Member, USNA Alumni Association Member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation References External links James David Watkins; A Compassionate Pragmatist, New York Times profile, June 4, 1988 "Frustrated Admiral of Energy", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan/Feb 1990 Bio at NPR Joint Ocean Commission Initiative web site Dept. of Energy web site Naval Postgraduate School – Hall of Fame Recipients Oral History Project of The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, Transcript of