Jack was designated an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer and assigned to Naval Air Station North Island as the Overhaul and Repair Officer.
There he met the man who was to be his best friend and neighbor, Commander Johnny Olson, who had joined the Navy as a Ship's Carpenter in 1903 and was now the Commander of the Aircraft Repair and Overhaul Unit.

After another staff tour, Arnold attended Harvard University, where he got his Masters in Business Administration in 1952.
Subsequent assignments in the various Bureaus of Aeronautics, Weapons and Materiel, culminating in an assignment as the Force Material Officer on the staff of Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1963, gave Arnold a well-rounded background which made him the logical choice to succeed Admiral Ignatius J. Galantin as the final Chief of the Bureau of Naval Materiel and the first Commander of the newly formed Naval Material Command.
The fact that he kept current as a Naval Aviator made him a standout choice for promotion.

He became Deputy Chief of Naval Material for Logistic Support in 1966, Vice Chief of Naval Material in 1967, and Chief of Naval Material in June 1970.
He was advanced to the rank of full admiral on October 14, 1970, the first restricted line officer to attain that rank.

He retired from the Navy on November 30, 1971, and was replaced at Naval Material Command by a longtime friend and shipmate, Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr..
Jack was designated an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer and assigned to Naval Air Station North Island as the Overhaul and Repair Officer. There he met the man who was to be his best friend and neighbor, Commander Johnny Olson, who had joined the Navy as a Ship's Carpenter in 1903 and was now the Commander of the Aircraft Repair and Overhaul Unit.
After another staff tour, Arnold attended Harvard University, where he got his Masters in Business Administration in 1952. Subsequent assignments in the various Bureaus of Aeronautics, Weapons and Materiel, culminating in an assignment as the Force Material Officer on the staff of Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1963, gave Arnold a well-rounded background which made him the logical choice to succeed Admiral Ignatius J. Galantin as the final Chief of the Bureau of Naval Materiel and the first Commander of the newly formed Naval Material Command. The fact that he kept current as a Naval Aviator made him a standout choice for promotion.
He became Deputy Chief of Naval Material for Logistic Support in 1966, Vice Chief of Naval Material in 1967, and Chief of Naval Material in June 1970. He was advanced to the rank of full admiral on October 14, 1970, the first restricted line officer to attain that rank.
He retired from the Navy on November 30, 1971, and was replaced at Naval Material Command by a longtime friend and shipmate, Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr..
Jackson D. Arnold