Larry Jackson is the Director, Center for Joint & Strategic Logistics, where he supports the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment and the Joint Staff Director for Logistics to develop strategies for the improvement of Department of Defense logistics & sustainment. He retired in October 2018 from the United States Navy as a Rear Admiral (upper) with over 33 years of commissioned service. His flag assignments included Director of Strategy, Plans and Logistics (J5/ J4) at U.S. Transportation Command, Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives (J5-SI) on The Joint Staff, Deputy Commander of Military Sealift Command, and Reserve Deputy Director for Warfare Integration on the OPNAV staff at the Pentagon.
Jackson is a graduate of the University of Virginia, the Naval War College, the Joint Forces Staff College, and the University of Maryland University College.
Upon completion of Surface Warfare School, he reported to the USS Conyngham (DDG-17) where he served in a variety of engineering billets, culminating as main propulsion assistant. When Conyngham aided USS Stark (FFG-31) after it had been hit by two air-to-surface missiles, Jackson led fire-fighting and damage control teams, for which he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal.
He later served as Combat Information Center (CIC) and Assistant Operations officer aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CG-47). His reserve assignments included Area Air Defense Command, Atlantic aboard USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20); Naval Amphibious Group 2; and the Navy Command Center. Jackson’s command experience includes reserve units with Submarine Group 10 (Force Protection), Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Military Sealift Command Norfolk and Navy Installations Command.
Jackson’s deployed experience includes a 2008 assignment to the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq where he served as an advisor and as chief of staff for the Ministry of Defense Advisory Team. In 2010,Jackson served as the Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 40 deputy commodore and deployed to Haiti in USNSComfort (TAH-20) in support of Operation Unified Response.
Immediately prior to his current duties, he served as an adjunct member of the Institute for Defense Analyses, where he specialized in projects involving logistics, strategy, planning, and defense institution building.