Naval War College Mourns Admiral Turner

By U.S. Naval War College Public Affairs Office

NEWPORT, RI— The 37th president of U.S. Naval War College (NWC), Adm. Stansfield Turner, passed away Thursday, Jan. 18. Turner served as president of the school from June 30, 1972 to August 9, 1974. He arrived with the task to change the college by instituting a rigorous and challenging curriculum that would broaden officers’ outlooks beyond their narrow specialties and give them the education to analyze problems effectively. Under Turner, the college created its three-course curriculum that still exists today. He established the Strategy and Policy Course that begins with the reading of Thucydides and is built around critical analysis of historical case studies.

“We at the Naval War College deeply feel the loss of Adm. Turner,” said current NWC President Rear Adm. Jeffrey A. Harley. “Much of what this school is built upon came from the intellect and innovations of this great man. We are saddened by his loss but we are a greater institution because of him.”

Turner was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University after graduating from the Naval Academy. After leaving the college, Turner continued on to command the Second Fleet. Promoted to four stars, he was assigned as Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Europe and then became the 10th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

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