Rear Admiral Jeffrey A Lemmons

Rear Admiral Jeffrey A Lemmons is Brownwood's highest ranking veteran. Rear Admiral Lemmons was born on 25 May 1957 to Carol and Joe Lemmons. He graduated from Brownwood High School in 1975 and received a Congressional Appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Rear Admiral Lemmons graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1979 and was designated a Naval Aviator in November, 1980. He transitioned to Naval Reserve status in 1985 and became a commercial pilot for Eastern Airlines and later, American Airlines. After the 11 September 2001 attacks, he regularly returned to active service for various fleet assignments. Selected to flag rank (one star) in 2004, he was assigned as the commander, Naval Air Force Reserve, successfully integrating all Naval Reserve Air Wings and Squadrons under the command of Naval Air Forces at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego. He was promoted to Rear Admiral Upper Half (Two Star) on 1 October 2007 and was assigned to the Pentagon as the US Navy Director for International engagement, where he created and institutionalized the Navy's Foreign Area Officer (FAO) community. His last assignment was director of the Inter-American Defense College, responsible for preparing selected military officers, police officials, and ministerial civilians of the Western Hemisphere nations for future senior national level leadership responsibilities. Rear Admiral Lemmons has been awarded many distinguished United States and International decorations and medals. He retired with over 35 years of service on 29 June 2014. After retirement, he worked as an Associate to the Institute for Defense Analyses in Washington DC and enjoyed farming and ranching in Brown County.