Nuclear Submarine Missile Force Mastermind Picked as New US Navy Chief

Admiral John Richardson, a veteran submariner and an expert on designing the eventual successor to the Ohio-class strategic missile submarines, has become the new head of the US Navy, the Department of Defense announced.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Richardson's most recent assignment was director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, where he oversaw multiple programs, including the acquisition effort to replace the nuclear missile-armed Ohio submarines that form a leg of the US triad nuclear force.

"[Richardson] is bold and innovative thinker… and the go-to officer for many of the Navy’s tough issues in recent years," Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said at a Pentagon ceremony on Friday where Richardson was sworn into office.

Carter described Richardson as the US navy’s "best troubleshooter — from handling problems of integrity and ethics, to preparing for the Ohio-class replacement ballistic missile submarine," according to the Defense Department website.

Carter also said Richardson had played a key role in helping to steer the US Navy through a series of crises in recent years.