As he took the helm of the Naval Academy on Tuesday, Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller told a crowd that his tenure at the military college would be marked by a mission to provide leaders who have strong ethics for the Navy fleet.

Midshipmen must learn to engender trust in order to lead effectively, he said.

"I believe honor is at the core of building that trust. I'm convinced that an ethical foundation will come first, and that will be our starting point while I am here," he said.

Miller's words came in his brief remarks at a combination change of command and retirement ceremony for departing superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, who is retiring after three years in the top job. Fowler was to retire a month later but the ceremony was changed after a report showed improprieties at the academy, including financial irregularities involving a slush fund.

That the ceremony was moved and that there were recent troubles went unspoken.

Comparing the work of the superintendent to the many-headed Hydra of Greek mythology, Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, vice chief of naval operations, noted that the role requires tending to many things simultaneously, and that the superintendent of the school where so many Navy leaders begin their careers affects the Navy for a generation to come.

Praising Fowler's 32-year career and achievements at the Naval Academy, he told the 600 guests, including a few former superintendents and many high-ranking Navy officials, that "Jeff sees the future."

Under Fowler, cybersecurity studies and internships for midshipmen in that field have been stressed, and officials hope to create a center for cybersecurity studies.

Greenert praised Fowler, a former director of Navy recruiting and former commander of a submarine squadron, for increasing diversity of midshipmen classes. Greenert said the Navy should reflect a diverse society.

Of the record-breaking number of 17,417 applicants for the Class of 2014, 5,379 were minorities.

After the ceremony, Wesley Brown, a member of the Class of 1949 and the first African-American to graduate from the academy, praised Fowler's work, saying he "has done a tremendous job" in diversifying the student body while maintaining high standards.

"I'm sorry to see that he was smeared at the end there," Brown said.

Before Fowler and his family left the stage with the traditional bells and whistles marking the departure of a commander from his ship, Fowler said, "My life has been a dream come true" and added, "I have no regrets. I have such happy, amazing memories."

He said he expected a "new adventure in the business world."

The decision to move up the change of command came shortly after the public release of a critical report by the Office of the Naval Inspector General, which found football bowl game sponsorship money had gone into a slush fund and was spent on parties, receptions and gifts for coaches.

Calling some of the expenditures "extravagant and wasteful," the report concluded that they did not benefit the midshipmen. But it also said Fowler experienced no personal gain from the funds and it found no indication that he was "specifically aware of any of the improprieties related to the actions of his subordinates in this matter."

The military also overturned Fowler's recommendations to expel two midshipmen for honor violations, saying they would invited to return and the honor and conduct system would be overhauled.

andrea.siegel@baltsun.com