Born in
San Diego, California, in June 1948, Fargo attended high school in
Coronado, California, and
Sasebo, Japan, and graduated from the
United States Naval Academy in June 1970. His father, Thomas A. Boulton, was a naval officer who was killed in a plane crash in 1957. His mother, Helen, remarried in 1960 to Captain William Fargo, US Navy. Helen was a Lieutenant in the US Navy Nurse Corps during World War II; both Thomas and William graduated from the Naval Academy (Class of 1943 and Class of 1939, respectively.) Trained in joint, naval and
submarine commands, Fargo served in a variety of sea and shore duty assignments. At sea, his five assignments in both
attack and
ballistic missile submarines included
Executive Officer aboard and
Commanding Officer of . While commander of the
Salt Lake City, Fargo hosted aboard several members of the cast of the movie
The Hunt for Red October as they were researching their roles as submarine crew members. He served as Commander, Submarine Group SEVEN, Commander Task Force SEVEN FOUR, and Commander Task Force ONE FIVE SEVEN in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and
Persian Gulf from 1992 to 1993. He commanded the United States
FIFTH Fleet and Naval Forces of the Central Command during two years of Iraqi contingency operations from July 1996 to July 1998. Fargo served as the 29th Commander in Chief,
U.S. Pacific Fleet from October 1999 to May 2002. Ashore, Fargo served in the
Bureau of Naval Personnel and with the Commander in Chief,
U.S. Atlantic Fleet and has had multiple assignments in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. After his selection to
Flag rank in 1994, Admiral Fargo has served as Director of Operations (J-3), U.S. Atlantic Command during the
Haiti intervention; as Director, Assessment Division (N-81) for the Chief of Naval Operations; and the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations (N3/N5). While serving as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), Fargo informed the
United States Congress of his plans to retire from the Navy. Although an
Air Force flag officer was nominated to succeed him, the
Senate declined to confirm the nominee, as it was customary to fill that post with a Navy flag officer. President
Bush accordingly extended Fargo's
mandatory retirement date. Fargo ultimately retired from military service in 2005, when the Senate confirmed Admiral
William J. Fallon to succeed him as Commander of USPACOM. Admiral Fargo is a 1989 recipient of the
Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. His personal decorations include the
Distinguished Service Medal (four awards), the
Defense Superior Service Medal, and the
Legion of Merit (three awards). In February 2005 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the
Order of Australia "for distinguished naval service, particularly for strengthening the Australia-United States alliance whilst Commander United States Pacific Command". In 2010, the
National Bureau of Asian Research appointed Fargo as the second holder of the
Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies. In 2019, Fargo became the 22nd chairman of
USAA. ==Awards and decorations==