Henry C. Mustin

Henry "Hank" Croskey Mustin (August 31, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and among the namesakes of USS Mustin (DDG-89). He distinguished himself during both the Vietnam and Cold Wars. As a flag officer he commanded Cruiser Destroyer Group 2, US Second Fleet, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, and Joint Task Force 120, where he was responsible for 225 ships and 2,100 aircraft spanning over 45 million square miles from the Arctic Circle to the Equator. Vice Admiral Mustin directed US Navy arms control planning, including the START negotiations with the Soviet Union. He led high-level US interagency delegations to Moscow, London, Paris, Lisbon, Oslo and Seoul. As Commander, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, he instituted major strategic changes to the defense of NATO that shaped the nation's maritime strategy. He also served as the senior US military representative to the United Nations. He retired from the navy on January 1, 1989, after nearly 34 years of active duty service.

Early life and education

A Navy junior, Mustin was born in Bremerton, Washington, on 31 August 1933, as the sixth generation of distinguished naval officers and great-nephew of George Barnett, the 12th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was the son of Vice Admiral Lloyd Montague Mustin and Emily Proctor Mustin, and namesake of his late grandfather Captain Henry C. Mustin a pioneering naval aviator. Of her eldest son, Henry Croskey Mustin, Emily would often say that he "was born with his feet planted firmly on the ground." In the late 1940s, while attending St. Stephen's School in Alexandria, VA, he acquired the nickname Hank, as if to reinforce a rootedness, despite his many moves as a Navy junior.

Mustin remained at St. Stephen's through his sophomore year of high school. As a tenth grader, he was captain of the football and baseball teams. The high scorer on the basketball team and the player with the highest batting average on the baseball team, he won both the teams' cups as outstanding player, as well as the cup for the school's outstanding athlete. In the late summer of 1948, Mustin moved to Coronado, CA when his father received orders to command his first ship. Admiral Mustin's great-uncle was General George Barnett, Naval Academy Class of 1881 and 12th commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. Mustin was the third generation of his family to attend the US Naval academy. His father, Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin, was Naval Academy class of 1932. His brother and one of his sons also graduated from Annapolis. Mustin said: "I’m the class of ’55, my brother, Tom, is the class of 62, and my youngest son, John, is the class of ’90."

On his mother’s side, Admiral Mustin's great-grandfather, Admiral Thomas Benton Howard, was Naval Academy Class of 1876. Admiral Howard was among the Captains of the "Great White Fleet" in command of . Admiral Howard was CinCPacFlt at the Battle of Veracruz. Admiral Howard's son, and Admiral Mustin's great-uncle, Captain Douglas L. Howard, Naval Academy Class of 1906, earned a Navy Cross during WWII. VADM Mustin's maternal grandfather, Captain James P. Morton, Naval Academy Class of 1895, fought with Admiral George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay and was superintendent of the naval Postgraduate School. His mother’s brother was Rear Admiral Thomas H. Morton, Naval Academy Class of 1933.

Commemoration The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer is named for the Mustin family.