| William R. Merz | |
|---|---|
 Vice Admiral William R. Merz, September 2017 | |
| Nickname | Bill Merz |
| Place of birth | San Diego, California |
| Allegiance |
 United States |
| Service/branch |
United States Navy |
| Years of service | 19xx–present |
| Rank |
 Vice admiral |
| Awards |
Navy Unit Commendation (6) Battle Effectiveness Award (5) Battenberg Cup (Atlantic Fleet) |
William R. Merz is an American flag officer, former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Systems (OpNav N9) for warfare systems and Vice admiral in the United States Navy, serving at United States Seventh Fleet commander since November 2019.[1] Merz's aboard assignments includes USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19),[2] "Submarine Group Seven" and Task Force 74. As a flag officer, he was assigned to commands at naval mine destroyer ships and anti-submarine warfare command. Later, he was appointed to Task Force 77 stationed at San Diego and TF-54 in Bahrain.
Education[]
Bill Merz was born in San Diego, California. In 1986, he did his graduation in Ocean Engineering with a Bachelor of Science from United States Naval Academy, and later attended Naval War College and Catholic University of America where he did master's degree. Merz received security studies through "MIT seminar XXI program".[3]
Career[]
Merz served as a director during his ashore flag officer assignments, including Naval Undersea Warfare Center for a ballistic missile submarine program (OPNAV N97). Later, he was appointed to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations for warfare Slsystems (DCNO OPNAV N9). His submarine design research assignments includes commanding officer of the U.S. naval reactors, chief of staff for the Submarine Force Commander. As a submariner, Merz was assigned to USS Haddo in San Diego, USS Proteus in Guam, and USS Boise in Norfolk. After serving aboard, he was assigned to deep-submergence vehicle, Los Angeles-class submarine USS Memphis and submarine squadron.[4]
In 2017 when Rear admiral Merz was serving as the director for undersea warfare division-N97, he was then promoted to the rank of vice admiral.[5]
Awards and decorations[]
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| Officer Submarine Warfare insignia | ||
| Navy Unit Commendation | Battle Effectiveness Award | Battenberg Cup/Atlantic Fleet |
References[]
- ↑ "New U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Takes Charge". September 12, 2019. https://news.usni.org/2019/09/12/new-7th-fleet-commander-takes-charge.
- ↑ "Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet calls on US 7th Fleet Commander". October 16, 2019. https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/flag-officer-commanding-eastern-fleet-calls-on-us-7th-fleet-commander-119101600049_1.html.
- ↑ "Vice Admiral William R. Merz Deputy Chief of Naval". https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS28/20180306/106950/HHRG-115-AS28-Bio-MerzW-20180306.pdf.
- ↑ "U.S. Navy Biographies - VICE ADMIRAL WILLIAM R. MERZ". https://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/bio.asp?bioID=755.
- ↑ "Flag Officer Announcements". https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/1248436/flag-officer-announcements/.
The original article can be found at William R. Merz and the edit history here.