Commander George Lanman, United States Navy (Retired), a graduate of the\u00a0United States Naval Academy, Class of 1957, devoted his life to the service of his country through a distinguished career in naval aviation, national defense, and the Intelligence Community\u2014continuing a proud family legacy of military service that began in his childhood.<\/p>\n
As a young boy, George first lived in\u00a0Coronado\u00a0at just three years old while his father served in the U.S. Navy\u2014an early connection to the community that would later come full circle when he returned with his own family.<\/p>\n
After graduating from the Naval Academy with a degree in Marine and Electrical Engineering, Commander Lanman began his service at sea as a surface warfare officer before earning his wings as a Naval Aviator. He completed flight training in Pensacola, graduating first in his class, and went on to fly anti-submarine warfare missions during the height of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
Commander Lanman served aboard multiple aircraft carriers, including the\u00a0USS Essex (CV-9),\u00a0USS Hornet (CV-12), and\u00a0USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). His operational career spanned critical moments in history, including the\u00a0Cuban Missile Crisis\u00a0and the\u00a0Vietnam War, where he flew surveillance and anti-submarine warfare missions in contested environments and earned the Air Medal.<\/p>\n
Earlier in his aviation career, he survived a dramatic aircraft ditching in the Atlantic\u2014within the region commonly known as the\u00a0Bermuda Triangle\u2014a testament to both the risks of naval aviation and his resilience.<\/p>\n
A defining chapter of his career came when he served as Executive Officer of\u00a0VS-21, the Navy\u2019s first operational squadron to deploy the S-3A Viking\u2014an advanced jet-powered anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed to counter the growing Soviet submarine threat. Embarked aboard the\u00a0USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)\u00a0as part of Carrier Air Wing One, the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean in 1975, marking a historic milestone in naval aviation. Under his leadership, the squadron earned the Battle \u201cE,\u201d the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award, and the Captain Arnold J. Isbell Trophy for anti-submarine warfare excellence\u2014an extraordinary achievement for a first-of-its-kind deployment.<\/p>\n
In addition to his operational accomplishments, Commander Lanman made significant contributions in strategic and analytical roles. He served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and later on the Navy Staff, where he developed cost and effectiveness models for major weapons systems, supported long-range planning, and contributed to national security policy, including work related to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)\u00a0working directly with the SALT negotiator Paul Nitze.<\/p>\n
He furthered his education with a Master of Science in Operations Research from the\u00a0Naval Postgraduate School, where he was inducted into the Sigma Xi engineering honor society, and completed executive studies at\u00a0Harvard Business School.<\/p>\n
Following his naval service, Commander Lanman continued to serve his country within the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader Intelligence Community. In senior leadership roles, he directed large-scale program analysis and financial management efforts supporting critical technical intelligence collection systems, overseeing programs of national significance and advising senior government leaders, Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget.<\/p>\n
Throughout his career, Commander Lanman combined courage, intellect, and leadership\u2014serving both in the cockpit and at the highest levels of national defense.<\/p>\n
Equally important was the life he built alongside his wife, Anne, whose strength, resilience, and unwavering support made this extraordinary career possible. Through frequent moves, long deployments, and years of uncertainty, she anchored their family and shared fully in the sacrifices of military life. Together, they raised three children, Anne, Charles, and Mary, across the country and abroad, ultimately returning to\u00a0Coronado\u2014a place that had first been part of his story decades earlier.<\/p>\n
From a young boy in a Navy family to a decorated Naval Aviator, strategist, and intelligence leader, Commander George Lanman\u2019s life reflects a deep and enduring commitment to service\u2014not only to his country, but to his family.<\/p>\n
He is honored as an inductee of the Coronado Avenue of Heroes.<\/p>\n
VOL. 116, NO. 29 – July 22, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commander George Lanman, United States Navy (Retired), a graduate of the\u00a0United States Naval Academy, Class of 1957, devoted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[20304,3211,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-410590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-coronado_city_news","tag-coronado_island_news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}