William Leon Schachte, Jr., Rear Admiral, USN (ret.)

Rear Admiral Bill Schachte was commissioned after graduating from Officer Candidates' School, initially serving as a Surface Warfare Officer. A Vietnam volunteer, he served in combat as a SWIFT Boat Officer-in-Charge, and also served as Executive/Operations Officer for Coastal Division Fourteen, Republic of Vietnam. He received a law degree from the University of South Carolina under a Navy program and transferred to the JAG Corps; and a Master of Laws degree (with highest honors) in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School. He then served in a number of JAG assignments primarily in the Pentagon, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Selected for promotion to Rear Admiral (Lower Half), he served as the Commander of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (formerly NIS). Upon retirement as a Rear Admiral (Upper Half), he was the senior uniformed lawyer in the Department of the Navy. He earned several decorations, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit (2); Bronze Star w/Combat "V"; Combat Action Ribbon; Vietnam Service Medal (1 silver star); and Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Medal color w/Palm). After retirement, he has worked as a consultant to a dot.com provider, and various environmental, construction and engineering corporations. He also served as a Counsel to Nexsen Pruet, and is currently Counsel to Blank Rome, a national law firm.