Admiral John Aquilino
Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
John Christopher Aquino was born in 1961 in Huntington, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in physics. He subsequently entered flight training, earning his wings. He is a graduate or has completed other education programs offered to him by the U.S. military, including the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education Program in National and International Studies.
His assignments include being part of numerous fighter squadrons flying the Tomcat and Hornet. He commanded the Red Rippers of VF-1, Carrier Air Wing 2, and Carrier Strike Group George H.W. Bush Strike Group. He has made several extended deployments in support of Operations Deny Flight, Deliberate Force, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom.
He has served at the Pentagon in the Office of the Legislative Affairs for the Secretary of Defense, and as director of strategy and policy, U.S. Joint Forces Command, among many others. He commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He has been commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command since April 30, 2021.
Aquilino has accumulated more than 5,100 mishap-free flight hours and over 1,500 carrier-arrested landings.
In the News…
Congress and the Pentagon are at odds over a legal requirement from last year’s National Defense Authorization Act to create a joint military force in the Pacific to prepare for the possibility of a conflict with China. Members of Congress claim the Indo-Pacific Command has been slow-rolling the mandate and doing it with a much smaller force than was anticipated.
Under the provisions of the 2023 NDAA, the command was also required to report to Congress the plans it had for a joint force headquarters by June 2023. Congress has yet to receive that report.
While the Indo-Pacific Command has set up Joint Task Force Micronesia, Congress is calling on the Pentagon to “fully implement” the joint force headquarters legislation “focused on crisis contingency command and control.”
There has been no response on record from the Indo-Pacific Command or Admiral John Aquilino, the Commander.
