The President today announced his intention to nominate Adm. James D. Watkins to be Chief of Naval Operations, Department of the Navy. He would succeed Adm. Thomas B. Hayward, whose term expires June 30, 1982.
Admiral Watkins is presently serving as Commander in Chief of our Pacific Fleet. He was Vice Chief of Naval Operations, beginning in April 1979. In September 1978, he was ordered to duty as Commander, Sixth Fleet, also assuming NATO duties as Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe. In April 1975, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower and Chief of Naval Personnel. In September 1973, he was ordered to duty as Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1, subsequently commanding Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S. Seventh Fleet, as well as a surface task group which deployed to the Indian Ocean in 1974.
He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1949. He is married and has six children. He was born March 7, 1927, in Alhambra, Calif.
Ronald Reagan, Nomination of Adm. James D. Watkins To Be Chief of Naval Operations Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/245792