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Eugene Grinstead Jr., 84, a vice admiral and a retired director of the Defense Logistics Agency, died of pneumonia Dec. 22 at his home in McLean .

Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in June 1981 to the highest post in defense logistics, Adm. Grinstead is credited with transforming diverse supply processes into a more automated and integrated supply chain. He was inducted into the agency's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Adm. Grinstead became director of the Materiel Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in 1972. He rose to vice commander of Naval Supply Systems Command in 1975 and commander two years later. As director of the Defense Logistics Agency, based at Fort Belvoir , he led about 48,000 military and civilian employees providing supply and logistics support to the military worldwide.

Logisticians are "the businessmen of the Navy," said Edward M. Straw, a retired vice admiral who served as director of the Defense Logistics Agency in the 1990s. Adm. Grinstead, he said, was "simply a master" at assuring that the military's inventory was situated in the right places around the world at the time it was needed.

Eugene Andrews Grinstead Jr. was born in Durham , N.C., and joined the Navy while a senior at the University of North Carolina in 1942. Commissioned an ensign in 1944, he served during World War II as an underwater demolition mine disposal officer -- a "frogman," as they were known before the Navy Seals came into being.

Straw noted that his friend went from seaman to admiral during his 41-year career. "He was the most street-smart officer I've ever met," he said.

After the war, Adm. Grinstead's assignments included service as assistant chief of staff for supply for the Atlantic Naval Air Force Command, supply officer at the Jacksonville (Fla.) Naval Air Station, planning and operations officer at the Aviation Supply Office in Philadelphia and supply officer at the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. He also served as supply officer on the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Adm. Grinstead received the Legion of Merit and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for contributing "his guidance and sound management practices" to the ultimate adoption of the Standard Navy Maintenance and Material Management System for Navy-wide use.

"He was a great teacher and coach," said Straw, who considered Adm. Grinstead his mentor and close friend.

Straw, who enjoyed his friend's sense of humor, hearty laugh and love of practical jokes, recalled being with him in Tehran in the late 1970s, at a lavish state dinner hosted by the shah. Describing Adm. Grinstead as "a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy," Straw was eager to see how his old friend would respond to the first course -- Iranian vodka and sheep's eyes atop crushed ice. Straw watched him pop a few of the delicacies into his mouth, after which he seemed to be bothered by bouts of coughing.

When the banquet ended, he refused to answer Straw's question: "How many of those eyes ended up in your napkin?"

Straw also recalled that after the shah was deposed, Adm. Grinstead helped the chief of the Iranian supply corps, also an admiral, escape the country in a container of Persian rugs.

After retiring in 1984, Adm. Grinstead was active with a number of organizations. He served on the board of the National Science Foundation, the National Industries for the Blind and the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped. He enjoyed gardening, woodworking and repairing and refinishing old furniture. He was a member of St. John's Catholic Church in McLean.

Two sons preceded him in death: Philip Grinstead in 1957 and Eugene A. "Andy" Grinstead III in 2001.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Gayle Marie Grinstead of McLean; eight children, Mary Katherine Lederer, Kurt Michael Grinstead, Karen G. Willis and Mathew Grinstead, all of McLean, Mark Grinstead and Michele Grinstead Arkwright, both of Annandale, Robert Kane Grinstead of Manassas and John Kane Grinstead of Ashburn; 14 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

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