Admiral Winnefeld graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served for 37 years in the United States Navy. He instructed at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as Topgun, and served as senior aide-de-camp to General Colin L. Powell. He commanded a fighter squadron, the amphibious ship USS CLEVELAND, and the aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE. As a flag officer, he commanded a carrier, two NATO commands, the United States Sixth Fleet, United States Northern Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD. He retired in 2015, after serving as the ninth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second highest-ranking officer in the United States. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, where he is also a member of the Engineering Hall of Fame, is a senior non-resident fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, is a member the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy, and serves on the board of the U.S. Naval Institute.