VN_SPR SUM_06 covers FINAL.indd - Villanova University

Eyes on China and the PacificAs commander of the U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific theater—the strategicallyvital region that includes China, Korea, Japan, India and eastern Russia—Navy Adm. William J. Fallon ’67 A&S faces a challenge every day.INTERVIEW BY IRENE BURGOIn celebrating the Commissioning on May 19 of theVillanova NROTC Class of 2006 into the U.S. Navy andU.S. Marine Corps, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon ’67 A&Swas the Commissioning officer and keynote speaker. In winter2005, the four-star admiral and NROTC alumnus wasappointed commander of the United States Pacific Command(PACOM). In introducing Adm. Fallon, Marine Corps Col.Glenn L. Wagner, who is the NROTC Unit’s commanding officer,noted that the admiral had risen to the zenith of his career. Couldthat be an understatement?After graduating from Villanova, where Fallon majored insocial sciences and minored in physics, he was commissioned asan ensign in the Navy. He served first as a naval flight officer inVietnam. During his career, he logged more than 4,800 flighthours in tactical jet aircraft. His duties commanding units havetaken him to the Arabian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Bosnia,among other locales. He has served as commander of the SecondFleet and the Striking Fleet Atlantic. From October 2000 toAugust 2003, he was vice chief of Naval Operations. FromOctober 2003 to February 2005, he was commander of the U.S.Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet (see the Winter2004 Villanova Magazine).The four-star admiral has traveled the globe and met theSultan of Brunei and other world leaders. In February 2001, hewas the U.S. representative sent by President George W. Bush toapologize formally to Japan when a U.S. submarine accidentallysank a Japanese fishing trawler. This year, Fallon visited Chinaduring the week of May 7 to meet with the country’s top militaryand foreign ministry officials. The purpose of the visit was tostrengthen ties and establishopen dialoguebetween the two countries’armed forces.As one of the Pentagon’sfive combatant commanders,Fallon reports directlyto Secretary of DefenseDonald H. Rumsfeld. Ascommander of PACOM,Fallon is the senior commanderof U.S. militaryforces in the Asian, Pacificand Indian ocean region.His area of responsibilityincludes more than 50 percentof the Earth’s surfaceand some 105 millionsquare miles. At PACOM’sheadquarters at Camp H.M.Smith on Oahu, Hawaii—with a sweeping view abovePearl Harbor—the staffconsists of about 700 Army,A Villanova NROTC alumnus whoseresponsibilities now stretch acrossmore than half of the Earth’ssurface, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon’67 A&S came to Villanova for theNROTC Commissioning in May.He addressed the Navy’s futureleaders—his fellow Villanovans.Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps officers and enlisted personnel,as well as 300 civil service employees.During his visit to campus, Fallon graciously agreed to beinterviewed by Villanova Magazine.PAOLA NOGUERAS (ALL)Q: (Irene Burgo): Would you describe your areas of commandand responsibilities?A: (Navy Adm. William J. Fallon ’67 A&S): I report directly to thesecretary of Defense and my area of responsibility is the Asia-Pacific theater. It stretches from the West Coast of the UnitedStates through the Pacific Ocean and a good part of the IndianOcean. The area includes Madagascar, Mauritius and theComoros Islands off the east coast of Africa. On land, the India-Pakistan border is the line of demarcation. India, East Asia,China, Mongolia, the eastern part of Russia, Japan, Korea, all ofSoutheast Asia, the islands in the Pacific, Antarctica and thesea areas around that continent, plus part of the Arctic Oceannorth of Russia, are included.My responsibilities include the several hundred thousandU.S. men and women in uniform and support of U.S. policies inthe region to enable security and stability. Our objective is toenable security and stability in the region.There are 43 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and it’svery interesting for a lot of reasons. First, from a social standpoint,60 percent of the world’s population lives in this area,in four of the world’s five most populous countries. From theeconomic standpoint, more than half of the world’s GDP isgenerated in this region. Four of the five largest national GDPsare in this area.Spring/Summer 2006 45