Robert Bostwick Carney (March 26, 1895 – June 25, 1990) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander-in-chief of the NATO forces in Southern Europe (1951–1953) and then as Chief of Naval Operations (1953–1954) during the Eisenhower administration.
He was the father in law of Joseph K. Taussig Jr. Born in Vallejo, California, Carney graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1916.
Famously, Carney eventually marched into de Steiguer's cabin, snapped, "Admiral, I just want to tell you I think you are a goddamn rotten son of a bitch," and stormed out.
[1] In February 1941, then Commander Carney was recalled from duty in the Pacific to assist in organizing, equipping, and training a special Surface-Air Force, having as its mission the protection of shipping against submarine and air attack.
Off Bougainville the night of July 26, 1943 he took advantage of poor weather to lay a large quantity of mines along sea lanes around the island, and then delivered a naval bombardment against the Japanese shore installations.
Carney later wrote that "Admiral Halsey unfailingly gave credit to his subordinates for successes achieved, and took all blame for failures on his own shoulders."
While in this assignment, Carney was awarded his second Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the overall strategy and in organizing the logistic support of the Allied Forces in the South Pacific, the citation stating, in part: Displaying sound judgement and distinctive tactical ability, he conceived and correlated the many offensive operations carried out in the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago areas.
Through his comprehensive knowledge of logistics and his expert planning, he enabled our Forces to exert their greatest strength against the enemy and administer a series of crushing defeats on the Japanese.When Halsey assumed command of the Third Fleet in the Central Pacific in June 1944, Carney accompanied him as Chief of Staff.
Carney arranged with Japanese emissaries for the entry of the Third Fleet into Tokyo Bay, accepted the surrender of Yokosuka Naval Base and surrounding area from Vice Admiral Michitaro Totsuka of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and attended the ceremony for the surrender of Japan held on board Halsey's flagship, the battleship USS Missouri.