Admiral (Retired) Bill Lescher

41st Vice Chief of Naval Operations

Admiral (Retired) Bill Lescher served as the 41st Vice Chief of Naval Operations. As Vice Chief, and previously as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources, he partnered with many exceptional leaders in transforming key Navy processes spanning resource allocation, readiness generation, and capability innovation. Embracing more effective leadership, problem-solving, and collaboration behaviors, the Navy achieved significantly improved outcomes in readiness, supply chain performance, and institutional learning with enduring initiatives that included Get Real Get Better culture growth, Navigation Plan Implementation Framework, Unmanned Task Force, and the Learning to Action Board. Operationally, Lescher commanded at the Squadron, Wing and Strike Group level. As a flag officer, he commanded Expeditionary Strike Group 5 and Task Forces 51/59 in Bahrain, leading multiple Amphibious Ready Groups and Marine Expeditionary Units executing contingency and counter-terrorism missions. Ashore, his assignments included leading the Seahawk developmental test team as an engineering test pilot, where he launched the first guided missiles from a Navy helicopter. He served in resource, acquisition and strategy assignments on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. Flag assignments included Joint Staff Deputy Director for Resources and Acquisition, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources. Admiral Lescher holds systems and aeronautical engineering degrees from the Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He graduated with distinction from fixed wing, rotary wing and Naval Test Pilot School training, and the units in which he served earned the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy “E” Ribbons and Theodore Ellyson award.