In the Navy Central Command (NAVCENT) area of operations he served as both the NAVCENT chief of staff and deputy commander, 5th Fleet.
In addition, he also held the appointments of Director General Naval Intelligence, Commander Combined Task Force 150 (Multinational Naval Force) at NAVCENT Bahrain, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) and Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK).
The command was established on 1 January 1983 along with the rest of U.S. Central Command, and command of NAVCENT was initially given to a flag officer selectee based at Pearl Harbor and tasked with coordinating administrative and logistical support for U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf.