Introduction
Walter E. “Ted” Carter Jr. is a United States Navy Vice Admiral and Naval Flight Officer. He is the 62nd Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. Carter previously served as the 54th President of the U.S. Naval War College.
Biography
Born in 1959, and a native of Burrillville, Rhode Island, Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981, was designated a Naval Flight Officer in 1982, and graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) in 1985. While at USNA, Carter majored in Oceanography, lettered in ice hockey 4 years (Team Captain in 1981), and was Editor in Chief of the USNA magazine, The Log, from 1979-1981. He is a graduate of the Air War College intermediate course, as well as the Armed Forces Staff College.
His career as a flight officer includes sea assignments in Fighter Squadron VF-161 on board USS Midway (CVA-41), in VF-21 "Freelancers" on board USS Independence (CV-62) and in Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW 5). He commanded the VF-14 "Tophatters", and served as Executive Officer of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), culminating in command of USS Camden (AOE-2) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). His subsequent Fleet-command assignment was Commander of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Twelve (CSG-12) during Big E's final deployment as a 51-year-old aircraft carrier.
Carter accumulated 6,150 flight hours in F-4, F-14, and F-18 aircraft during his career and safely accompanied pilots in 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, the record among all active and retired U.S. Naval Aviation designators. He also flew 125 combat missions in support of joint operations in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shore assignments include instructor duty in VF-124 "Gunslingers"; Chief of Staff for Fighter Wing Pacific; Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command; Chief of Staff for Joint Warfighting Center, United States Joint Forces Command; and Commander, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command where he also served as lead for the Transition Planning Team during the disestablishment of U.S. Joint Forces Command. Prior to becoming President of the Naval War College, Carter led Task Force RESILIENT as Director, 21st Century Sailor Office (N17). He became the 54th President of the Naval War College on 2 July 2013.
On July 23, 2014, Carter relieved Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller, becoming the 62nd Superintendent of the US Naval Academy.
Awards and decorations
Carter is the recipient of various personal awards, including the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (three awards), Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat V, Bronze Star, Air Medals (two with Combat V and five strike/flight), and five Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two with Combat V). He was awarded the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership (1999) and the U.S. Navy League’s John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership in (2009). He has been recognized as the West Coast F-14 Instructor of the Year (1987) and was the NFO Tailhooker of the Year in (1988). Carter was also appointed an Honorary Master Chief by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy in 2008. In November of 2014 he was inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame and in April of 2015 he was inducted into the prestigious Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
Naval Flight Officer Badge
 | Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
  | Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards) |
  | Legion of Merit (three awards) |
  | Distinguished Flying Cross (with Combat V) |
 | Bronze Star |
 | Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
 | Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 award stars) |
   | Air Medal (with Combat V, 1 award star and Strike/Flight numeral 5) |
 | Navy Commendation Medal (with Combat V and 4 award stars) |
 | Joint Service Achievement Medal |
 | Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with 2 oak leaf clusters) |
  | Navy Unit Commendation (with 3 service stars) |
 | Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (with 4 service stars) |
 | Navy "E" Ribbon (with Wreathed Battle "E" devices) |
 | Navy Expeditionary Medal |
 | National Defense Service Medal (with 1 service star) |
 | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (with 1 service star) |
 | Southwest Asia Service Medal (with 3 service stars) |
 | Kosovo Campaign Medal (with 1 service star) |
 | Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |
 | Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
 | Armed Forces Service Medal |
 | Humanitarian Service Medal |
  | Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (with 8 service stars) |
 | Navy Overseas Service Ribbon |
 | NATO Medal for Kosovo (with 1 service star) |
 | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
 | Navy Expert Rifleman Medal |
 | Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal |