It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral Robert Rawson “Bob” Monroe on 1 July 2024 at age 96. Vice Admiral Monroe enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in April 1945, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1950, and served as a surface line officer until his retirement in September 1983 as the director of research, development, test, and evaluation in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). His commands included
Reedbird (AMS-51);
Charles F. Adams (DDG-2);
Juneau (LPD-10); South Atlantic Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Operational Test and Evaluation Force; and Defense Nuclear Agency. Vice Admiral Monroe served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Monroe was awarded a Bronze Star with Combat “V” for volunteering to pilot the first Republic of Korea minesweeper into the heavily mined port of Chinnampo, North Korea. He was also awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” for his service in the Korean War.
On 18 April 1945, Monroe enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After completing high school, he reported for active duty on 3 August 1945. His initial training was at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Illinois, from August to November 1945. He then attended pre-radio school in Chicago before transferring to Naval Training School (electronic engineering and radioman) at Del Monte, California, until February 1946. He was selected for the U.S. Naval Academy via a competitive fleet appointment and attended preparatory school at Camp Peary, Virginia, and Bainbridge, Maryland. He was honorably discharged on 9 June 1946 and entered the Naval Academy the next day.
Midshipman Monroe quickly showed prowess in technical subjects; the
Lucky Bag (Naval Academy yearbook) stated, “We used to laugh when he said he could read a slipstick to seven figures, but finally even the profs believed it.” (Note: a “slipstick” is a slide rule.) When the weather was good, he was on the tennis court or golf course, and when it wasn’t, he was on the rifle range. He was Midshipman Commander of the Color Company. He graduated as Honor Man (first in class) of the class of 1950 with a degree in naval science. He was commissioned an ensign on 2 June 1950.
In June 1950, Ensign Monroe reported to the destroyer
Forrest Royal (DD-872) as the navigation and electronics officer right as the Korean War broke out.
Forrest Royal deployed from Guantanamo Bay on 27 September 1950, arriving in Korean waters via the Panama Canal at the end of October, initially serving as flagship for minesweeping operations at Chinnampo (a port on the west coast of North Korea).
Forrest Royal subsequently conducted shore bombardments up and down the east coast of North Korea and escorted the carriers of Task Force 77 in the Sea of Japan. The ship earned four Battle Stars for Korean service and returned to its homeport of Norfolk in July 1951.
Ensign Monroe was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” for “meritorious service . . . conducting minesweeping operations, shore bombardment and enforcing a naval blockade against hostile North Korean territory from 30 October 1950 to 19 April 1951.” He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V,” for which the citation reads in part:
"Ensign Monroe volunteered to pilot the first vessel through the heavily mined waters in Chinnampo Harbor, and by successfully directing the ROK
YMS-503 into the harbor and completing a return journey was one of the first to enter the port from the sea."
In October 1951, Ensign Monroe reported to the U.S. Naval School, Electronics, at Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco for duty under instruction.
In February 1952, Ensign Monroe was assigned to destroyer
Strong (DD-758) as electronics officer for the combat information center.
Strong deployed to the Korean War theater of operations with Destroyer Division 21, departing Norfolk in May 1952 and transiting to the war zone via the Panama Canal. The crew of
Strong conducted shore bombardments on the east coast of North Korea and carrier escort in the Sea of Japan. Ensign Monroe was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) in June 1952.
Strong departed the war zone in October 1952, returning to Norfolk via Singapore, Ceylon, Bahrain, Aden, Suez Canal, Naples, and Villefranche, arriving home in December 1952.
In December 1953, Lieutenant (j.g.) Monroe assumed command of auxiliary minesweeper
Reedbird (AMS-51), redesignated as MSCO-51, in February 1955.
Reedbird operated off various ports on the U.S. East Coast, including supporting operational testing for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. He was promoted to lieutenant in June 1955. In March 1956, Lieutenant Monroe was assigned to the plans and policy control division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel as assistant promotion plans officer.
In May 1958, Lieutenant Monroe reported to guided-missile cruiser
Boston (CAG-1) as the missile officer and secondary battery officer. At the time,
Boston was the only surface-to-air missile-armed ship in the world.
Boston deployed to the Mediterranean from June–December 1958, including support to the 1958 U.S. Marine landings in response to the crisis in Lebanon. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1960. In July 1960, he attended Stanford University, in California, graduating in 1962 with a master of arts in international relations.
In June 1962, Lieutenant Commander Monroe assumed duty as the executive officer of guided missile destroyer
Farragut (DLG-6), the lead ship of her class and the first destroyer designed to be armed with missiles (and later redesignated DDG-37).
Farragut deployed to the Mediterranean for 10 months beginning in August 1962. During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
Farragut was deployed into the Black Sea, making port visits on the north coast of Turkey.
Farragut returned to the U.S. (Mayport, Florida) in December 1962. In the summer of 1963,
Farragut went up the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City, Canada, before deploying again to the Mediterranean in February for a truncated deployment due to a major Second Fleet reorganization.
In May 1964, Lieutenant Commander Monroe assumed command of guided missile destroyer
Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) in Charleston, South Carolina, participating in the annual major Atlantic Fleet exercise, Operation Springboard, before the ship made her first deployment to the Mediterranean from November 1964 into 1965. Monroe was promoted to commander in July 1964. In the spring of 1965,
Charles F. Adams participated in Operation Powerpack, the U.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic civil war, a combat operation that resulted in the death of 9 U.S. Marines and 18 U.S. Army airborne troops.
Charles F. Adams was awarded an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.
In January 1966, Commander Monroe was assigned as the systems analyst in the personnel branch of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was awarded a Joint Service Commendation Medal.
In January 1969, Commander Monroe was assigned as the prospective commanding officer and officer-in-charge of the pre-commissioning unit for amphibious transport dock
Juneau (LPD-10) at Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co., in Seattle, Washington. He was promoted to captain on 1 July 1969. He assumed command of
Juneau upon commissioning on 12 July 1969.
Juneau departed for Southeast Asia operations on 23 August 1970 as flagship for Amphibious Squadron ELEVEN (PHIBRON 11), arriving at Da Nang, South Vietnam, as part of Operation Keystone Robin Alpha, returning U.S. Marines from Vietnam to the United States.
In November 1970, Captain Monroe reported to the Office of the CNO in Washington, DC, as the assistant director of the CNO’s executive board. In February 1971, he became the executive secretary to the board. On 26 May 1972, he was designated a rear admiral for duty in a billet commensurate with that rank.
In May 1972, Rear Admiral Monroe assumed duty as the director of systems analysis division in the Office of the CNO. He was awarded his first Legion of Merit for this tour. In June 1973, he assumed command of the South Atlantic Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. As Commander Task Force 86 (TF-86), he led the multinational exercise UNITAS XIV around South America. He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 July 1973.
In January 1974, Rear Admiral Monroe assumed duty as commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) with additional duty as assistant director, Operational Test and Evaluation, in the Office of the CNO. OPTEVFOR was the sole independent command for operational testing of new weapons (air, surface, and subsurface), and in this capacity, he exercised operational control of tests in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, and U.S. Pacific Fleet.
On 31 March 1977, he was designated a vice admiral for duty in a billet commensurate with that rank and assumed duty as the director of the Defense Nuclear Agency. In this capacity, he was responsible for the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) nuclear weapons activities including stockpile management, safety, security, and survivability. He managed the U.S. national program for research into the effects of nuclear weapons, determining the vulnerabilities, “hardness,” and survivability of U.S. nuclear weapons and command, control, and communications (C3) systems by means of underground nuclear tests, kiloton-level high explosive tests, advanced simulators, and other means. He played a major role in directing DoD’s four-year response to President Jimmy Carter’s proposed comprehensive test ban treaty. At the time, the Defense Nuclear Agency was only a few years old and would eventually revolve into the Defense Threat Reduction Agency after the end of the Cold War. He was awarded a Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
In August 1980, Vice Admiral Monroe returned to the Office of the CNO, this time as director, Research, Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) with planning and oversight responsibility for all major Navy RDT&E programs for weapons and C3 systems, strategic and tactical. He was also responsible for allocating and managing the Navy’s RDT&E budget. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. Vice Admiral Monroe retired on 1 September 1983.
Vice Admiral Monroe’s awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit; Bronze Star with Combat “V”; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal (two awards); Korean Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal (one campaign star); Humanitarian Service Medal; Korean Presidential Unit Citation; United Nations Service Medal; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal; and Expert Rifle Medal.
After retiring from active duty, Vice Admiral Monroe joined Bechtel, a worldwide high-technology company focused on program and project management, systems integration, systems engineering, engineering-construction, full-service environmental work, and operating services. He founded Bechtel’s defense and space business line, which under his management in six years grew to be ranked one of the top DoD contractors. He also led Bechtel’s participation in the “Former Soviet Union (FSU) Demilitarization” market, working with all involved agencies of the U.S. and FSU governments. He provided the industry’s perspective to facilitate project development in nuclear/chemical/biological demilitarization and missile and silo dismantlement. Simultaneously, he positioned Bechtel for contracts funded by the Nunn-Lugar “Cooperative Threat Reduction” program and related Department of Energy nonproliferation initiatives. From the late 1990s to 2005, his principal focus with Bechtel was U.S. nuclear weapons policies and programs, including deterrence, non-proliferation, and future nuclear weapons posture. In 2005, after 22 years with Bechtel, he became a private consultant. He served on numerous advisory boards for the Departments of Defense, Energy, and State, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other government and private organizations.
Vice Admiral Monroe also served as the president of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1950, and he was a prolific author of papers on nuclear weapons issues. His daughter, Sue Gordon, was principal deputy director of national intelligence, 2017–19.
An inurnment ceremony will take place at the U.S. Naval Academy on 29 July 2024 at 1330.
Vice Admiral Monroe’s career got off to a rocket-assisted start—first in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy and commander of the Color Company, which resulted in the love of his life for almost 70 years being the brigade “Color Girl.” He was almost immediately thrown into the heat of battle in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star with Combat “V” on his first deployment, for volunteering to embark and guide a South Korean minesweeper into a heavily mined North Korean port (before the surprise massive Chinese offensive subsequently recaptured it). For much of his career, he was in the thick of Cold War crises, including going into the Black Sea during the Cuban Missile Crisis in a show of resolve against the Soviet Union. He served in multiple other crises and wars, to include the crisis in Lebanon in 1958, Operation Powerpack in the Dominican Republic in 1965, and two deployments to Vietnam in 1970 as the commanding officer of the brand-new
Juneau (LPD-10). Much of his career was marked by being on the cutting edge of advanced technology, including being a missile officer on the first missile-armed ship in the world, multiple tours in systems analysis, and particularly, research, development, testing, and evaluation—the Navy of Desert Storm and even into Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom owed much to his work. He was also a leading expert not only in the Navy, but in the DoD, on all aspects of nuclear weapons and related systems and policy, to ensure that the U.S. had a credible deterrent to the nuclear capability of the Soviet Union. The fact these weapons were never used may be his greatest achievement. After his retirement, he frequently wrote on nuclear issues, particularly his view of the deteriorating state of readiness of the U.S. nuclear arsenal due to lack of testing. He would be accused by some of being an unreconstructed “Cold Warrior” but given the current state of U.S./Russia relations I would say his positions were prophetic. Vice Admiral Monroe and his family made great sacrifices so that he could serve our nation so well and with such distinction, and we should all be deeply grateful.
Rest in Peace, Admiral Monroe.