Vice Admiral Bernard M. (Bud) Kauderer died of natural causes at La Costa Glen on January 19, 2021. He was 89 years old. A native of Philadelphia, PA, and an alumnus of Central High School, he was a 1953 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.
Admiral Kauderer first served as Navigator in the destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537), and then as Executive Officer in the USS Hummingbird (MSC-192), a coastal minesweeper. He attended Submarine School in 1957, and following Qualification in Submarines in USS Raton (SSR-270), was selected for a year of training in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program. He then served successively as Assistant Engineer in the Polaris missile submarine USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601), as Chief Engineer in the nuclear attack submarine USS Skipjack (SSN-585), and as Executive Officer in USS Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN-631).
As Commanding Officer of the Pearl Harbor-based nuclear attack submarine USS Barb (SSN-596) from 1966 to 1970, he conducted Cold War operations in the Western Pacific. His next assignment was to command the Nuclear Power Training Unit at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. For three years, he was responsible for the training and qualification of both surface and submarine nuclear plant operators. From 1973 to 1975, he served as Commanding Officer of the submarine tender USS Dixon (AS-37) based in San Diego, responsible for the maintenance and logistic support of two squadrons of nuclear-powered submarines.
In 1977, while serving as Chief of Staff to Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Kauderer was selected for promotion to Rear Admiral. His first command as a Flag Officer was Submarine Group Five in San Diego where he was responsible for the maintenance and training of three squadrons of submarines, and for all submarine operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. In 1979, he was ordered to Washington, DC, as Deputy Director, Research, Development, Teste and Evaluation on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Two years later, he returned to Pearl Harbor to command the Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, with operations from the West Coast of the U.S. to the Indian Ocean. In 1983, he was promoted to Vice Admiral and ordered as Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. This assignment was unique in his service as Commander of the Submarine Forces of both fleets. He served concurrently as Commander Submarines Allied Command Atlantic, a NATO post.
Admiral Kauderer retired from active duty on August 1, 1986. He became a consultant to industry, academia and government, and served as National President of the Naval Submarine League for five years. He was the founding General Chair of the annual Submarine Technology Symposium conducted at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, a position he held for 15 years. In 1997, he was appointed to NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. His primary focus was on radiation safety in space, and on the reliability of systems in the International Space Station. He held that commission for four years. Admiral Kauderer was a founding member of the Inter-Agency Safety and Security Committee of the Anti-Defamation League of San Diego. He served as Committee Chair from 2000 to 2002.
Permission to reprint obtained by AM Israel Mortuary and VADM Kauderer’s family.
