Admiral Sam Paparo
Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Samuel John Paparo, Jr. was born in 1964 in Morton, Pennsylvania. He earned an undergraduate degree and was part of the ROTC program at Villanova University. He earned an M.A. from Old Dominion University, an M.S. from the Naval Postgraduate School, and has graduated from other educational opportunities afforded him by the U.S. military.
Paparo deployed to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. Throughout his Navy career, he has held numerous commands, including for Carrier Air Wing Seven, Carrier Strike Group 10, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He has commanded the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command since May 2024.
In the News…
Admiral Scott Paparo, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, spoke about the “unmanned hellscape” strategy the United States is using to counter China. The strategy is part of the Replicator initiative that aims to prevent China from invading or other aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait through the coordination of thousands of drone ships, submarines, and aircraft to engage targets in the West Pacific. The plan would be to slow the Chinese People’s Liberation Army down long enough for Taiwan’s allies to respond.
Admiral Paparo said, “I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities so I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything.”
The first iteration of the initiative is set to be operational by August 2025.
