Charles Cooper II

Charles Bradford "Brad" Cooper II^[2] (born 1967)^[3] is a United States Navy vice admiral who has served as the deputy commander of United States Central Command since February 2024. He most recently served as commander of United States Naval Forces Central Command, Commander, United States Fifth Fleet and Commander, Combined Maritime Forces from 2021 to 2024.^[4][5] He previously served as Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic and, before that, as the Chief of Legislative Affairs of the United States Navy.^[6][7]

Charles Cooper II
Born	1967 (age 56–57) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1989–present
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands	United States Naval Forces Central Command United States Fifth Fleet Naval Surface Forces Atlantic Expeditionary Strike Group 7 United States Naval Forces Korea USS Gettysburg (CG-64) USS Russell (DDG-59)
Battles / wars	Gulf War War in Afghanistan
Awards	Navy Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (4) Bronze Star Medal
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy (BS) National Intelligence University (MS) United States Army Command and General Staff College Harvard University Tufts University
Spouse(s)	Susan Cooper[1]

Cooper attended Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a 1989 graduate of the United States Naval Academy.^[2] Cooper later earned a master's degree in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University.^[6] During his tenure as commander of Naval Forces Korea, Cooper was bestowed the Korean name Goo Tae-il^{[lower-alpha 1]} by the ROK-US Alliance Friendship Association in honor of his service to the Korean peninsula.^[8]

In April 2023, Cooper was nominated for reappointment as vice admiral and assignment as the deputy commander of United States Central Command.^[9][10]

Awards and decorations

Surface Warfare Officer Pin
Navy Distinguished Service Medal			Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with three gold award stars		Bronze Star Medal		Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four award stars		Joint Service Commendation Medal		Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with four award stars
Joint Service Achievement Medal		Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal		Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
Navy Unit Commendation		Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with one silver service star		Meritorious Team Commendation with Operational Distinguishing Device
Navy "E" Ribbon with wreathed Battle E device		National Defense Service Medal with service star		Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal with two service stars		Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star		Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal		Korea Defense Service Medal		Armed Forces Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal		Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal		Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with silver service star
Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon with three service stars		Special Operations Service Ribbon		Unidentified foreign award
Order of National Security Merit, Cheonsu Medal (Republic of Korea)		NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia		Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)		Navy Expert Rifleman Medal		Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal
Command at Sea insignia
Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
Presidential Service Badge

Notes

1. In this Korean name, the family name is Goo.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.

1. "White House Author – Brad Cooper". November 18, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
2. Burylo, Rebecca (January 23, 2017). "Lanier grad promoted to rear admiral". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
3. Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy on Active Duty. Bureau of Naval Personnel. October 1, 1990. p. 180. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
4. "Vice Admiral Brad Cooper". Retrieved May 6, 2021.
5. "NAVCENT, U.S. Fifth Fleet, CMF Change of Command". U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. May 6, 2021.
6. "Rear Admiral Charles Cooper II". www.navy.mil. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
7. "Flag Officer Announcements". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
8. Lee Chi-dong (July 19, 2017). "U.S. naval commander to get Korean name". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
9. "PN545 — Vice Adm. Charles B. Cooper II — Navy". U.S. Congress. April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
10. "Flag Officer Announcements". U.S. Department of Defense. April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.

Military offices
Preceded by James W. Kilby	Commanding Officer of USS Russell (DDG-59) 2007–2008	Succeeded by Jeff D. Weston
Preceded by Robert N. Hein	Commanding Officer of USS Gettysburg (CG-64) 2013–2015	Succeeded by John Schmidt
Preceded by William D. Byrne Jr.	Commander of United States Naval Forces Korea 2016–2018	Succeeded by Michael E. Boyle
Preceded by Marvin Thompson	Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7 2018–2019	Succeeded by Fred W. Kacher
Preceded by James T. Loeblein	Chief of Legislative Affairs of the United States Navy 2019–2020	Succeeded by Sara A. Joyner
Preceded by Roy Kitchener	Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic 2020–2021	Succeeded by Brendan McLane
Preceded by Samuel Paparo	Commander of the United States Naval Forces Central Command 2021–2024	Succeeded by George Wikoff
Preceded by Gregory Guillot	Deputy Commander of the United States Central Command 2024–present	Incumbent