Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
John Poindexter
John Marlan Poindexter (born August 12, 1936) is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor during the Reagan administration. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the Iran–Contra affair, but his convictions were reversed on appeal in 1991. During the George W. Bush administration, he served a brief stint as the director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office. He is the father of NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain Alan G. Poindexter.
Poindexter was born in Odon, Indiana, the son of Marlan G. and Ellen (Sommers) Poindexter.[failed verification] He received his undergraduate degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1958, where he graduated first in a class of 899. His fellow graduates included astronaut Bruce McCandless II (who graduated second) and Senator John McCain (who graduated 894th); previous National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane was a contemporary, graduating the following year.
Poindexter received an MS (1961) and PhD (1964) in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology. For his dissertation, he conducted laboratory research to further develop a model for understanding the Mössbauer effect with Nobel Laureate Rudolf Mössbauer.
While commander of Destroyer Squadron 31, Poindexter was surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare commander of battle groups in the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, and he developed new tactics and battle management procedures under the Composite Warfare Commander concept. As the commanding officer of USS England, he pioneered the shipboard use of computers to manage the ship's force portion of yard overhauls. He was also an executive officer and a chief engineer of destroyers.
As deputy commander of the Naval Education and Training Command, he led the United States Navy's extensive education and training programs. He launched the development of a distributed data management system to better manage training pipelines.
His staff assignments included: executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, administrative assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and special assistant for Systems Analysis to the Secretary of Defense. He reached the rank of vice admiral while serving as National Security Advisor, but was reverted to the rank of rear admiral in 1986 for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. He retired at that rank in 1987.
Poindexter served in the Reagan administration as military assistant to the National Security Advisor from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1985, he served as Deputy National Security Advisor, leading the National Security Council's Crisis Pre-planning Group. From 1985 to 1986, he was National Security Advisor, providing recommendations to the President on national security, foreign policy and defense policy.
He played a significant role in the Strategic Defense Initiative, Operation Urgent Fury, the Achille Lauro hijacking incident, Operation El Dorado Canyon (in response to Libyan terrorist attacks), and the Reykjavík Summit with the Soviets.
Hub AI
John Poindexter AI simulator
(@John Poindexter_simulator)
John Poindexter
John Marlan Poindexter (born August 12, 1936) is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor during the Reagan administration. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the Iran–Contra affair, but his convictions were reversed on appeal in 1991. During the George W. Bush administration, he served a brief stint as the director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office. He is the father of NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain Alan G. Poindexter.
Poindexter was born in Odon, Indiana, the son of Marlan G. and Ellen (Sommers) Poindexter.[failed verification] He received his undergraduate degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1958, where he graduated first in a class of 899. His fellow graduates included astronaut Bruce McCandless II (who graduated second) and Senator John McCain (who graduated 894th); previous National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane was a contemporary, graduating the following year.
Poindexter received an MS (1961) and PhD (1964) in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology. For his dissertation, he conducted laboratory research to further develop a model for understanding the Mössbauer effect with Nobel Laureate Rudolf Mössbauer.
While commander of Destroyer Squadron 31, Poindexter was surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare commander of battle groups in the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, and he developed new tactics and battle management procedures under the Composite Warfare Commander concept. As the commanding officer of USS England, he pioneered the shipboard use of computers to manage the ship's force portion of yard overhauls. He was also an executive officer and a chief engineer of destroyers.
As deputy commander of the Naval Education and Training Command, he led the United States Navy's extensive education and training programs. He launched the development of a distributed data management system to better manage training pipelines.
His staff assignments included: executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, administrative assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and special assistant for Systems Analysis to the Secretary of Defense. He reached the rank of vice admiral while serving as National Security Advisor, but was reverted to the rank of rear admiral in 1986 for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. He retired at that rank in 1987.
Poindexter served in the Reagan administration as military assistant to the National Security Advisor from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1985, he served as Deputy National Security Advisor, leading the National Security Council's Crisis Pre-planning Group. From 1985 to 1986, he was National Security Advisor, providing recommendations to the President on national security, foreign policy and defense policy.
He played a significant role in the Strategic Defense Initiative, Operation Urgent Fury, the Achille Lauro hijacking incident, Operation El Dorado Canyon (in response to Libyan terrorist attacks), and the Reykjavík Summit with the Soviets.