President Jimmy Carter was a member of the U.S. Navy. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and served as a naval officer before entering politics and returning to Georgia to work on his family's peanut farm.
Carter served on active duty from 1946 to 1953 and later remained in the Naval Reserve until 1961. Much of his active service was connected with submarines, including work with the developing nuclear-submarine program. He studied nuclear physics and was selected for training related to naval nuclear propulsion.
Carter reached the rank of lieutenant. His naval background shaped his reputation for technical competence and discipline, and it also gave him experience that later influenced his views on military affairs and national security. He became Georgia's governor in 1971 and the 39th president of the United States in 1977.
A common mix-up is assuming Carter was an Army officer because he later served as commander in chief. “Commander in chief” is the president's constitutional role over the armed forces, not the branch in which he personally served.