Editing Vice Chief of Naval Operations (section)

{{Short description|Second highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox official post
| post                     = Vice Chief
| body                     = Naval Operations
| native_name              = 
| insignia                 = File:Emblem of the United States Navy.svg
| insigniasize             = 
| insigniacaption          = Mark of the U.S. Navy
| flag                     = Flag of the United States Vice Chief of Naval Operations.svg
| flagsize                 = 
| flagcaption              = Flag of the vice chief of naval operations
| image                    = ADM James W. Kilby.jpg
| imagesize                = 
| alt                      = 
| incumbent                = [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[James W. Kilby]]
| incumbentsince           = 5 January 2024
| department               = [[United States Navy]]<Br/>[[Office of the Chief of Naval Operations]]
| style                    = 
| type                     = 
| status                   = 
| abbreviation             = VCNO
| member_of                = 
| reports_to               = [[Chief of Naval Operations]]
| residence                = 
| seat                     = 
| nominator                = 
| appointer                = The [[President of the United States|president]]
| appointer_qualified      = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength               = 
| termlength_qualified     = 
| constituting_instrument  = {{UnitedStatesCode|10|8035}}
| precursor                = 
| formation                = {{start date and age|df=yes|1942|03|26}}
| first                    = [[Frederick J. Horne]]
| last                     = 
| abolished                = 
| succession               = 
| unofficial_names         = 
| deputy                   = 
| salary                   = 
| website                  = 
}}

The '''vice chief of naval operations''' ('''VCNO''') is the second highest-ranking commissioned [[United States Navy]] officer and functions as the principal deputy of the [[Chief of Naval Operations|chief of naval operations]]. By statute, the vice chief is appointed as a four-star [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]].<ref>{{cite web |date=15 March 2025 |title=10 U.S. Code § 8035 - Vice Chief of Naval Operations |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/8035 |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, U.S. Code: Table Of Contents}}</ref>