David C. Nichols

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David C. Nichols

Vice Admiral David C. Nichols
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Rank	Vice Admiral
Unit	US Central Command
Commands	United States 5th Fleet Carrier Group One Carrier Air Wing Two Attack Squadron 196
Battles/wars	Iraq War

Vice Admiral David C. Nichols is the Deputy Commander of United States Central Command as of 2006.

Following graduation from the University of Tennessee, Vice Admiral Nichols was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army through the ROTC program. He is a graduate of Army Ranger School. After lateral transfer to the U.S. Navy and Naval Flight Officer training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, he reported to NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., in October 1974 for training in the A-6 Intruder.

Vice Adm. Nichols' duty at sea includes tours in Attack Squadrons 145, 165, and 196. He commanded Attack Squadron 196 onboard Independence in 1990/91 during Operation Desert Shield and Carrier Air Wing Two onboard Constellation in 1994/95 during deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch. He commanded Carrier Group One headquartered in San Diego from July 2000 until November 2001. He assumed the duties as Commander, United States Naval Forces Central Command and Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet in October 2003 until November 2005.

Assignments ashore include duty as an Operational Test Director in Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 5 at Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California; Tactics Department Head at the Naval Strike Warfare Center, Fallon, Nevada; Executive Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy — Tactical Programs in Washington, D.C.; and Attack Readiness Officer at Medium Attack Tactical Electronic Warfare Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He commanded the Naval Strike Warfare Center in 1995/96 and the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon from May 2002 to October 2003.

His joint duty includes Executive Assistant to the Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Command, at Camp Smith, Hawaii, from May 1996 until May 1998; U.S. Central Command Deputy Director of Operations at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from June 1998 until June 2000. He served as Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia and Combined Air Operations Center Director at Prince Sultan Air Base, al Karj, Saudi Arabia, from November 2001 through March 2002 during Operation Enduring Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom he was the USCENTCOM Combined Air Force Deputy Commander from February to May 2003.

Nichols is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, and a graduate of the National Defense University Joint and Combined Staff Officer School at the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia. He completed Senior Executive programs at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu and the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C.

Nichols has 5,000 flight hours in various models of Navy aircraft including more than 4,000 hours in the A-6 Intruder. His awards include Defense Superior Service, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Air, Navy Commendation, and Navy Achievement medals. He was a recipient of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Flight Officer of the Year award as a Lieutenant Commander and the Senator Henry M. Jackson Memorial Leadership award as a Commander.