Vice Adm. Mewbourne retires after 40-year career

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (June 30, 2022) – Navy Vice Adm. Dee L. Mewbourne, the 16th deputy commander of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), retired today during a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The USTRANSCOM commander, Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, presided over the ceremony. 

Mewbourne served in the Navy for 40 years, and assumed the role of the deputy commander of the global combatant command in 2019.

Van Ovost praised Mewbourne’s leadership and service throughout his career. 

“The examples are too numerous to recount but you will consistently hear these themes – big ideas, detailed planning, meticulous execution, and a focus on the human element and leading teams through various tough challenges,” Van Ovost stated. 

“But it must be true, over his 40 years of service to the United States Navy, the Department of Defense, and to our nation – he has routinely been the best of the best,” she added. “His peers and commanders recognized his potential and made every effort to cultivate his already profound skills.” 

The commander concluded by saying, “Your reputation as the most thoughtful DCOM [Deputy Commander] is validated. You are the finest officer and leader I have ever worked with, I cherished all of our moments together. There can be no doubt, when our nation called, you delivered!”

In his remarks, Mewbourne talked about how his being somehow at the right place at the right time was central to his Naval career.

“Unlike what you would read in a book, my story was not written by human hand, but by divine fate. When I look back on the major turns that were taken over a 40-year journey, I can honestly say that it was not me who selected the astonishing path leading to today.”

As Mewbourne reflected on his experiences over land, air and sea during the four-decade span, he asked the audience, “So, what can be learned from my 40-year story?  

“Mark Twain once said, ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’ If Mark Twain is right, then we each have a calling to apply our own unique talents.”  

He added, “I recognized early the role that God played in my career progression and learned to accept that when one door closed, another would open. I just needed to have the faith and the courage to walk though. And once on the other side, I needed to blossom where I was planted. That, too, was an invaluable life lesson.”  

Mewbourne thanked the people he worked with along the way at USTRANSCOM. 

“Thank you for being good teammates, thank you for your extraordinary role modelling, professionalism, and thank you for choosing to serve our country and thank you for the difference you make in your lives by serving at TRANSCOM. God Speed and God Bless.”

Van Ovost presented the Defense Distinguished Service Medal to Mewbourne for his exceptional leadership.

Mewbourne is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and was designated a naval flight officer in December 1983. He held a wide range of assignments to include command at every level, multiple operational deployments, and more than 10 years of experience in joint assignments. 

Mewbourne’s command assignments include: Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139 aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Nashville (LPD 13), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3 and CSG-11, and the Military Sealift Command.

At sea, Mewbourne completed sea assignments flying the A-6E Intruder aircraft in Attack Squadron (VA) 34 embarked on USS America (CV 66); VA-75 aboard USS John F.Kennedy (CV 67); Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 aboard Eisenhower; and as the executive officer of VA-196 aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). After transitioning to the EA-6B Prowler aircraft, he served as the executive officer of VAQ-139 aboard the Lincoln. He also served as the executive officer in USS George Washington (CVN 73).

Ashore, Mewbourne served as a flight instructor in VA-42, the East Coast A-6E Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), and project officer at the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate. Later, he served as military assistant and trip coordinator for the secretary and deputy secretary of defense; chief of staff for Navy Cyber Forces; on the staff of Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic; and as Director, Maritime Operations for U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Mewbourne has deployed supporting Operations El Dorado Canyon, Provide Comfort, Deny Flight, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Enduring Freedom and the 2006 Lebanon War. He has accumulated over 3,600 total flight hours in over 50 various aircraft and over 1,000 arrested landings on 14 carrier decks. 

In 2019, Mewbourne was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and assignment as deputy commander of USTRANSCOM after previously serving as the Commander of the naval component of TRANSCOM, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) from August 2016 to June 2019.  

A native of Ormond Beach, Florida, Mewbourne earned a master’s degree in business administration from Colorado State University and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. 

Mewbourne’s many awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, seven awards of the Legion of Merit, five awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Combat “V”, and two awards of the Strike/Flight Air Medal.

USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, TRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the Joint Force, advances American interests around the globe, and provides our nation's leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.

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