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Admiral (ret.) Joseph W. Prueher

Senior Advisor, Preventive Defense Project

Contact:
Telephone: (617) 495-1412 (Associate Director, PDP); Limited Media Availability

Experience

Admiral Joseph W. Prueher is a consulting Professor at Stanford University’s Institute of International Studies and Senior Advisor on The Preventive Defense Project.  In addition he speaks and consults on international and security issues.  He is a Director of Merrill Lynch, Emerson Electric, New York Life, Fluor Corporation, as well as other business, educational, advisory, and civic boards, and a member of the Board of Governors of The Nature Conservancy.

Admiral Prueher served as Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from 1999 to 2001.  He served two Presidents and was responsible for directing, coordinating and managing the activities of all United States Executive Branch activities in China.

He completed thirty-five years in the United States navy in 1999.  His last command was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC); the largest military command in the world CINCPAC spanned over half the earth’s surface and included over 300,000 people.

From 1989 through 1995, Admiral Prueher served as Commandant at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis; Commander of Carrier Battle Group ONE based in San Diego; Commander of the U.S. Mediterranean Sixth Fleet and of NATO Striking Forces based in Italy; and as Vice Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.

Foremost a carrier based attack pilot for his first 24 years of service, he also spent three years as a Navy Test Pilot at Patuxent River, MD.  He has extensive flight and combat experience, with over 5600 flight hours and over 1000 carrier landings.  He was qualified in 52 types of aircraft, held numerous senior tactical commands, including two carrier air wings, and led the formation of the Naval Strike Warfare Center in Fallon, NV.

From Nashville, TN, Admiral Prueher graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy, and then graduated with distinction in 1964 from the U.S. Naval Academy, later receiving an M.S. in International Relations from George Washington University.  He is also a graduate of the Naval War College in Newport, RI.  In addition to co-authoring the Performance Testing manual used by naval test pilots for many years, he has published numerous articles on leadership, military readiness, and Pacific region security issues.

Admiral Prueher has received multiple military awards for combat flying as well as naval and Joint Service.  The governments of Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia have decorated him.

His wife, Suzanne, and he currently reside in Virginia Beach, VA.  Their daughter, Brooks, an urban planner, lives with her husband, Owen Barwell, in Alexandria, VA.  Their son, Joshua lives and works in New York City.