Rear Admiral Robert J. Hawkins is a native of Liverpool, New York. He enlisted in the Navy in 1983 and completed the Nuclear Power Training Program before serving on two submarines – the USS Sunfish (SSN 649) and the USS Henry L. Stimson (SSBN 655G). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina and was commissioned as an Ensign in 1993. In 1995, he completed an MBA from Webster University; he later obtained a Master of Science from Georgetown University in 2000 and a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies at the Navy War College in 2016. He completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice at the College of Nursing at Rush University and a PhD from the Rush University Graduate College in 2007 and 2012, respectively. Hawkins completed a Graduate Certificate in Global Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Public Health Practice in May 2019.
 
Operationally, Hawkins served wartime deployments as a nurse anesthetist as part of Fleet Surgical Team Eight onboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1), the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), and the USS Bataan (LHD-5).
 
Hawkins assumed the role as the 27^th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps on May 14,2023. He was Director of the Commander’s Action Group (CAG) at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from 2021-2022.  He was Commander of the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) from 2019-2021 and the Deputy Commander of NMCPHC from 2017-2019.  From 2015 to 2017, Hawkins was the Associate Director of Surgical Services at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
 
Hawkins is an experienced instructor holding education leadership positions as a clinical instructor, clinical site director, deputy program director, and chair and program director. He served as the Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program in the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University from 2010 to 2014.
 
Hawkins wears the enlisted submarine warfare device and is surface warfare medical department officer qualified. His personal military awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy Commendation Medal (five awards), Navy Achievement Medal (five awards) and the Navy Good Conduct Medal (two awards). 
 
Hawkins is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
 

Last Updated: 12 January 2024