Nickname(s) Zap Name Ronald Zlatoper Years of service 1963–1996 | Commands held US Pacific Fleet Rank Admiral | |
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Born March 21, 1942 (age 82) ( 1942-03-21 ) Awards Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal | ||
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Gulf War Service/branch United States Navy Battles and wars Vietnam War, Gulf War | ||
Ronald Joseph Zlatoper (born March 21, 1942) is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) from 1994 to 1996.
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Zlatoper is the Founder of Strategic Transitions Research. He served as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc. He serves as a Trustee of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He serves on the boards of Penn State University Great Valley, Board of Advisors member of the School of Business & Public Management at the George Washington University, U.S.S. Missouri Memorial Association, and the Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific. He is a Regent for Chaminade University. He is also active on the boards of the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor; the East-West Center; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation; Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i — Military Affairs Council; Catholic Charities Hawai'i; and is a member of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way.
During his time as an undergraduate at RPI, Ronald was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He was inducted into the fraternity's hall of fame in 2014. He received his master's degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
1967 USS Forrestal fire
On July 29, 1967, Zlatoper, then a Lieutenant, kept a careful record of events in the squadron duty officer log of the 1967 USS Forrestal fire.
Honors
He has received numerous personal decorations including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; the Navy Distinguished Service Medal; the Legion of Merit; the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Meritorious Service Medal; the Air Medal; and the Navy Commendation Medal (with Combat "V"); plus various campaign and unit awards. He is the honored recipient of the Japanese Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun and the Korean Presidential Tong Il medal.