chief of naval operations

noun phrase

: the ranking officer of the navy and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Examples of chief of naval operations in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, chief of naval operations and vice chief of staff of the Air Force were fired. Colin Demarest, Axios, 26 Feb. 2025 Also fired were the chief of naval operations, the vice chief staff of the Air Force, and three of the military’s top legal officials. Patrick Reis, Vox, 24 Feb. 2025 The last chief of naval operations to not complete a full four-year term in office was Adm. Mike Mullen, who became the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007. John Ismay, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025 Hegseth could soon fire or remove generals and senior officers, US officials say Franchetti has been the chief of naval operations since November 2023. Luis Martinez, ABC News, 20 Feb. 2025 Watching those seeking high-ranking jobs in the Trump administration appear before U.S. Senate committees last week reminded me of what Adm. Elmo Zumwalt once said of his time serving as chief of naval operations. Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025 Burke helped lead its response while serving as chief of naval personnel from 2016 to 2019, and vice chief of naval operations from 2019 to 2020, before retiring in summer 2022 as commander in Europe. Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 23 July 2024 Butler produced a former chief of naval operations (Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert) and a former secretary of defense (William J. Perry). Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 15 July 2024 From 1982 to 1984 Postol served as the assistant for weapons technology to the chief of naval operations. Annie Jacobsen, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief of naval operations was in 1915

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Cite this Entry

“Chief of naval operations.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20of%20naval%20operations. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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