Vice Admiral Jay Donnelly retired from active duty after 35 years in the Navy. His final active duty assignment was as Commander, Submarine Forces, where he led the Navy’s Undersea Enterprise and was responsible for establishing force-wide strategies on core submarine issues such as force structure, budgetary requirements, and manpower, along with Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic, where he had command responsibility for all Atlantic based U.S. submarines, their crews, and supporting shore activities.

As a career submarine officer, he served in officer roles on USS Tautog (SSN 639), USS Memphis (SSN 691), and USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN 641). His afloat command assignments were aboard USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) and USS McKee (AS 41).

His early shore assignments include duty as a physics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy; Assistant for Undersea Warfare and Strategic Issues for the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel staff (OP-00K); Head of the Submarine Acquisition Branch (N872C) and Assistant for Plans and Liaison (N87C) for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Submarine Warfare Requirements.

Following retirement from the Navy, he became a vice president at Oceaneering International Advanced Technologies for two years before moving to Huntington Ingalls Industries where he was a corporate vice president for Program Integration and Assessment for six years before becoming vice president for Advanced Technologies. He retired from Huntington Ingalls Industries in July 2020.

A second-generation submarine officer and a native of Groton, Connecticut, he was a physics major and distinguished graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1975.  He received a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Acoustics from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Married for over four decades, Jay and his wife, Mimi, are the proud parents of three married children, each one is a naval officer, and six grandchildren.