Admiral Daryl L. Caudle

Alum Daryl L. Caudle (B.S. ‘85) has been promoted to the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Admiral is a four-star flag officer, equivalent to the rank of General in the other Armed Services and the highest peacetime rank in the Navy.

Except for special circumstances, of the 160 flag officer slots allocated to the Navy, there can be only 6 four-star Admirals. Two of these slots are reserved for the Chief of Naval Operations and the Vice Chief of Naval Operations so only four active-duty admirals serve in the field at any given time.

Admiral Caudle, a native of Winston-Salem, was commissioned in the U.S. Navy after attending Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Since leaving NC State he has earned several degrees: an M.S. in Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1992, an M.S. in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University in 2004 and a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix in 2010.

Earlier in his career Caudle held multiple officer positions on 7 different ships and several shore-based assignments. Later in his career he was named Commander of Submarine Squadron 3 (2009), Chief of Staff for Commander Submarine Force (2011), Deputy Chief for Security Cooperation (2013), Deputy Commander for JFCC – Global Strike (2014), Deputy Commander for the U.S. 6th Fleet (2015), Commander Submarine Force for the U.S. Pacific Fleet (2017), and Vice Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy for the Joint Staff (2019).

In late 2019, Caudle was named Commander, Submarine Forces and promoted to Vice Admiral (3 Star). His new assignment is commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.

Admiral Caudle and his wife, Donna, live in Norfolk, Va., and have two daughters, two stepdaughters, and one grandson.

Congratulations to Admiral Caudle for your exemplary service and career.