{{Short description|U.S. Navy aviator and officer}} {{for|persons of a similar name|Richard Butler (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = | name = Richard W. Butler | honorific_suffix = | image = Rear Admiral Richard Butler.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | other_name = | nickname = | birth_name = Richard Wallace Butler<ref name=promotion/> | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1959}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DD8BVZeVFP4C&pg=PA90 |title=Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy on Active Duty |date=1990-10-01 |page=90 |publisher=Bureau of Naval Personnel |access-date=2021-06-21}}</ref> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} death date first, then birth date --> | death_place = | burial_label = | burial_place = | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | allegiance = | branch = {{Navy|United States}} | service_years = 1982–2016 | service_years_label = | rank = Rear Admiral Lower Half | rank_label = | service_number = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records --> | unit = | commands = VFA-25<br>CVW-14<br>Joint Task Force Guantanamo<br>Carrier Strike Group 4 | battles_label = | battles = | awards = | memorials = | spouse = <!-- Add spouse if reliably sourced --> | relations = | children = | other_work = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | module = }}
'''Richard W. Butler''' is a retired aviator and officer in the United States Navy.<ref name=MiamiHerald2016-11-17/><ref name=UsnOffBioRButler/>
He was the commandant of Joint Task Force Guantanamo from July 2013 to July 2014.<ref name=MiamiHerald2016-11-17/>
Butler went on record as supporting President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention camp.<ref name=AlJazeera2013-12-12/>
Butler later served as the commanding officer of Carrier Strike Group 4 before retiring from active duty in 2016.<ref name=UsnOffBioRButler/>
Earlier in his career, Butler commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 25 and Carrier Air Wing 14.<ref name=UsnOffBioRButler/>
Butler is a 1982 graduate of the University of Kentucky. He later earned a master's degree from the National War College.<ref name=UsnOffBioRButler/>
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
http://www.atacusa.com/bios/richard_butler.html
<ref name=promotion> {{cite web | url = https://www.congress.gov/nomination/103rd-congress/673 | title = PN673 — Navy | publisher = U.S. Congress | author = | date = 1993-10-25 | accessdate = 2020-02-26 }} </ref>
<ref name=MiamiHerald2016-11-17> {{cite news | url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article115470333.html | title = Navy sending new commander to run President Trump's Guantánamo prison | publisher = Miami Herald | author = Carol Rosenberg | author-link = Carol Rosenberg | date = 2016-11-17 | accessdate = 2016-11-17 }} </ref>
<ref name=AlJazeera2013-12-12> {{cite news | url = http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/12/guantanamo-commandersupportsclosingdownfacility.html | title = New Guantanamo commander supports closing facility | publisher = Al Jazeera | author = Jason Leopold | author-link = Jason Leopold | date = 2013-12-12 | location = Guantanamo Bay | accessdate = 2016-11-17 | quote = In an interview with Al Jazeera, Navy Rear Adm. Richard Butler, commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, said he agreed with Obama's pledge to shut down the detention facility, which in a month will mark 12 years since the first prisoners arrived, and has so far cost taxpayers $5 billion. }} </ref>
<ref name=UsnOffBioRButler> {{cite news | url = https://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio_ret.asp?bioID=643 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170525210519/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio_ret.asp?bioID=643 | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 25, 2017 | title = United States Navy biography: Rear Admiral Richard W. Butler | publisher = United States Navy | date = 2016-03-02 | accessdate = 2020-02-26 }} </ref> }}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Richard W. Butler}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Richard W}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:University of Kentucky alumni Category:United States Naval Aviators Category:National War College alumni Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:United States Navy admirals