In April 1919, McCormick was assigned as aide and flag lieutenant on the staff of Commander Battleship Division 4, United States Fleet.

[2] Despite suffering a fractured vertebra, McCormick never went on the sick list, choosing to continue on active duty while wearing a plaster cast for three months.

[3] He was promoted to rear admiral on July 15, 1942, and, upon completing his tour on Nimitz' staff, was awarded the Legion of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as War Plans Officer on the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from February 1, 1941, to January 14, 1943.

The accompanying citation stated: "His mastery of the relationship between strategy and logistics and his understanding of the process of procuring and distributing critical items have been important factors in meeting the needs of area and Fleet Commanders.

"[1] He would later be quoted as saying, "I am tempted to make a slightly exaggerated statement: that logistics is all of warmaking, except shooting the guns, releasing the bombs, and firing the torpedoes.

He was awarded a second Gold Star for his Legion of Merit "as Commander of a Battleship Division, of a Task Group, and of a Fire Support Unit, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, from March through May 1945.

In January 1948, he led a mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina, aboard the heavy cruiser Albany to establish cordial relations with the Argentine military.

He reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral upon being assigned as Commandant, Twelfth Naval District, headquartered in San Francisco, California, on December 8, 1948.

Truman's declaration of a national emergency had lifted the legal limits on the number of three- and four-star officers, and McCormick was promoted to grant him equal standing with the vice chiefs of staff of the Army and Air Force.

It was said to be the largest naval command given an individual since Christopher Columbus had been appointed Grand Admiral of the Ocean Seas in the fifteenth century.

In September 1952, NATO held its first major naval exercise, Operation Mainbrace, commanded jointly by McCormick and SACEUR Matthew B. Ridgway.

Operation Mainbrace involved 160 allied ships of all types and tested SACLANT's ability to "provide northern flank support for a European land battle."

The exercise assumed that Soviet forces had already swept through West Germany and were moving into Denmark and Norway, and was intended in part to "reassure the Scandinavian signatories that their countries could be defended in the event of war.

"[14] At the conclusion of the exercise, McCormick and Ridgway stated that Operation Mainbrace had highlighted several weaknesses in NATO for future correction.

McCormick called Operation Mariner "the most complete and widespread international exercise ever held," involving 500,000 men, 1,000 planes, and 300 ships from nine navies.

[16] The exercise tested a variety of allied naval capabilities, ranging from command relationships to mine warfare and intelligence, although "there was no strategic concept other than Blue was fighting Orange."

McCormick viewed the exercise as a qualified success, showing that ships and aircraft of the disparate NATO navies could cooperate effectively even under adverse weather conditions, although there had been problems with communications and logistical support.

[14][17] After the exercise, McCormick told a dinner of the American Council on NATO on October 29, 1953, that the Kremlin was "well aware" of the importance of the transatlantic sea lane and was readying submarines to fight another possible Battle of the Atlantic.

"[18] At the end of McCormick's tour, Chief of Naval Operations Robert B. Carney looked for a successor who would be better at standing up to the British staff at SACLANT headquarters.

The president and his staff made many helpful suggestions right from the start and after it was going awhile, their enthusiasm grew, perhaps due to the quality of the foreign officers assigned.

"[22] On August 16, 1956, McCormick suffered a heart attack in his quarters around 3 a.m., and died four hours later at the Naval Hospital in Newport at the age of 61, the day before the start of classes for the 1957 course year.

He spent his last days here devoting himself selflessly of his energies, broad experience, and wisdom to keep this college in the forefront of the military education field and in preparing officers to better serve our country in these perilous times.

"[22] The scion of an old Navy family, McCormick was remembered as a man of extreme reserve of manner who was viewed by associates as the precisely correct quarterdeck admiral.

"Monty" McCormick, who graduated from USNA in 1939 commanded a submarine during World War II and was killed in a plane crash in Australia in 1945.