J. Paul Reason

Joseph Paul Reason
Admiral Joseph Paul Reason (1996)
Born	(1941-03-22) March 22, 1941 (age 76) Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1965–1999
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	USS Coontz (DDG-40), USS Bainbridge (CGN-25), Naval Base, Seattle, Washington, Cruiser-Destroyer Group One, Battle Group Romeo, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, United States Atlantic Fleet
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit
Other work	Vice President for Ship Systems at SYNTEK Technologies, Inc., President and COO, and Vice Chairman of Metro Machine Corp, Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History

Joseph Paul Reason (born in Washington, D.C. on 22 March 1941) was Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet from 1996 to 1999. Earlier in his career, as a commander, he was naval aide to the President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, from December 1976 to June 1979. In 1996, Reason became the first African-American officer in the United States Navy to become a four-star admiral.

The son of Joseph Reason, a professor of romance languages and director of libraries at Howard University, and his wife, Bernice, a high school teacher of biology, Reason grew up in a multiracial environment, living from 1944 in a home on Girard Street, NE, in Washington, D.C. He participated in an integrated Boy Scout troop and attended McKinley Technology High School, spending a period every summer at a camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. In 1957–58, during his senior year in high school, Reason became interested in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, but was not selected although he ranked second out of 300 applicants. Following this rejection, he spent his freshman year at Swarthmore College, his sophomore year at Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), and his junior year at Howard University. As he was completing his junior year at Howard University, Congressman Charles Diggs, Jr., (D-MI), contacted him and encouraged him to apply to the United States Naval Academy. Accepted for the Naval Academy Class of 1965, Reason reported to Annapolis as a midshipman on 28 June 1961 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science and a commission as an ensign on 9 June 1965. Three days later, he married Dianne Lillian Fowler in the Naval Academy Chapel. They have a son and a daughter.