Release
Immediate Release

Flag Officer Assignments

June 16, 2020

The secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations announced today the following assignments:

Rear Adm. Michael D. Bernacchi Jr. will be assigned as director, plans and policy, J5, U.S. Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.  Bernacchi previously served as commander, Submarine Group Ten, Kings Bay, Georgia.  

Rear Adm. Yvette M. Davids will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida.  Davids previously served as commander, Carrier Strike Group Eleven, Everett, Washington.  

Rear Adm. Michael P. Holland will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Northern Command/North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.  Holland is currently serving as director, programming division, N80, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. William W. Wheeler III will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.  Wheeler is currently serving as director, plans and policy, J5, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Maryland.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Anne M. Swap, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, National Capital Medical Directorate, Defense Health Agency, Washington, D.C.  Swap is currently serving as commander, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, Portsmouth, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph A. DiGuardo Jr. will be assigned as commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), Virginia Beach, Virginia, with additional duties as commander, NECC Pacific.  DiGuardo is currently serving as deputy director of plans and policy for countering weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Kevin M. Jones will be assigned as director, Logistics Directorate, J-4, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany.  Jones is currently serving as commander, Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Pamela C. Miller will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and command surgeon, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.  Miller is currently serving as reserve fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Douglas C. Verissimo is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine, San Diego, California.  Verissimo previously served as deputy director for operations, National Joint Operations Intelligence Center, Operations Team Two, J3, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
 
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael J. Vernazza will be assigned as commander, Naval Information Warfighting Development Center, Norfolk, Virginia.  Vernazza is currently serving as Deputy Commander, Tenth Fleet, Fort Meade, Maryland.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Darin K. Via will be assigned as commander, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, Portsmouth, Virginia.  Via is currently serving as director, medical systems integration and combat survivability, N44, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.