Richard Gary Colbert (February 12, 1915 – December 2, 1973) was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who served as President of the Naval War College from 1968 to 1971, and as commander in chief of all NATO forces in southern Europe from 1972 to 1973.

[2] Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Barker operated with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) in Southeast Asian and Australian waters until May 1942, then escorted convoys between San Francisco, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, until May 1943, when the destroyer transferred to the Atlantic Fleet to join Task Group 21.12, a hunter-killer group centered on the escort carrier Core.

After the war, Meade was sent on a relief sweep along Tonkin Gulf coastal areas to assist French forces in combating Chinese pirates off Haiphong.

With no written record of Sherman's conversations with Franco, it fell to Colbert to debrief the late admiral's negotiations to the Navy Department and other government agencies.

[10] Moreover, during that tour Colbert had actually written a brief staff study on the best way to educate foreign naval officers at Navy service schools without compromising either national security or the level of their instruction.

[10] Colbert and his wife also spent a considerable amount of their own money to organize social events to foster lasting informal ties between students, whose personal bonding was viewed as almost as important as the formal curriculum.

Colbert was impressed by the high quality of the inaugural class, writing, "The capability of the students is far beyond our expectations—they really look like the 'future CNO's of the Free World' as Admiral Burke describes them.

The Navy had never sent an officer to the PPC, and Colbert's detailing officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel warned him repeatedly that an assignment to the State Department would irreparably damage his career, but Colbert persisted, passing an interview with Director of Policy Planning Walt W. Rostow and recruiting support from Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul H. Nitze, a former PPC chairman whose aide Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., "pulled the necessary levers.

"[2] During his time on the PPC, Colbert worked on topics ranging from the Vietnam War, various proposals for multilateral forces, and nuclear weapons arrangements east of the Suez Canal.

Indicating its newfound appreciation for the importance of Colbert's work, the Navy had him complete his scheduled term on the PPC instead of immediately transferring him to a traditional flag-level command.

"[2] In late November 1966, Colbert prepared a concept paper proposing a permanent SACLANT naval contingency force based on Operation Matchmaker, an annual six-month exercising involving ships from allied navies.

As a relatively young rear admiral who was expected to rise much further in the Navy after his presidency, Colbert's appointment broke the postwar tradition of selecting an "elder statesman" on the verge of retirement.

He also continued the Naval War College building program, working with Rhode Island Senator John O. Pastore to secure congressional funding for new student housing and other construction projects.

All I ask is just a bit more time to carry on and establish some concepts—multinational NATO forces which will strengthen our Free World against what I am convinced is a desperate threat, despite all the talk of détente.

Italian Admiral Giuseppe Pighini, commander of Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe, eulogized Colbert as "a man dedicated to his duty till the last breath of life.

"[2] In his memoirs, Zumwalt wrote admiringly of Colbert's last days: He performed magnificently throughout his final months and readily agreed to return home when it became apparent that the end was approaching.