After a very fulfilling 38-year Navy career, I completed a second career in the government. Now retired, I'm doing some of the other important things in life!
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A New Jersey native, after high school in 1968, I immediately enlisted in the United States Navy. Following basic training at RTC, Great Lakes, I was first assigned to USS ISLE ROYALE (AD 29) followed by the USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 32) -- both home ported in Long Beach, CA. After a Viet Nam deployment, in May 1971 I was assigned to the A-6 Intruder training squadron, Attack Squadron Forty Two, at NAS Oceana, VA.
In August 1975, I reported aboard USS BORDELON (DD 881) as the Ship's Admin/Personnel petty officer in charge. After an at-sea collision with the USUAL John F. Kennedy resulting in BORDELON's decommissioning, I completed my sea rotation aboard USS SIMON LAKE (AS 33), also home ported in Charleston, SC where I was selected for Chief Petty Officer. In 1978 I was assigned to NAS, Brunswick, ME as the Asst Personnel Officer. During my enlisted career, I advanced to Senior Chief Personnelman, crossed the Equator, made several WestPac and Med deployments, and was one of the first Sailors to earn the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) designation.
After submitting three applications for a direct commission, I was selected as an Admin Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and commissioned as a new ensign, in 1980. I was immediately assigned as Ship's Secretary aboard USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20) home ported in Norfolk, VA. In 1982, I returned to the West Coast as OIC of PSD Lemoore, CA. From 1984 to 1992 I served several tours in Pearl Harbor, HI -- first as Executive Officer Flag Allowance, Commander THIRD Fleet on Ford Island and embarked in USS CORONADO (AGF 11); then as the Admin Officer, Commander, U.S. Pacific Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), Hickam AFB; and as the Executive Officer/Commanding Officer and Flag Secretary, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. It was during my three tours in Hawaii that I was selected for the College Degree Program (CDP) and earned my bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1988 from Chaminade University of Honolulu.
In 1992 I returned to the East Coast and was assigned as the Director of Administration in the NATO Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, Norfolk, VA. In 1996 I traveled cross-country again, this time as a geo-bachelor to Bremerton/Everett, WA aboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) as the Admin Officer. In 1998, I returned to Norfolk and was assigned as Executive Officer, Personnel Support Activity Norfolk, VA. In 2000, I received a command assignment as Commanding Officer, Personnel Support Activity, Jacksonville, FL. In 2002, I was reassigned to the Navy Personnel Command in Millington, TN as Director, Field Support Division (Pers-33/673). In May 2004, I returned to Norfolk as the Chief of Staff, Task Force Warrior (Sea Warrior project). In February 2005, I reported to my last Navy assignment as Assistant Chief of Staff of Administration/Resources and Commanding Officer Staff, at Commander Operational Test and Evaluation Force in Norfolk, VA. After a fulfilling, 38-year Navy career, I retired from the Navy in 2006 and immediately began working as a consultant/senior analyst for a government contractor, C.A.C.I. where I accomplished a myriad of management projects.
In January 2012, I began the latest chapter in my career in the civil service as the Director Global Operations at the Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center, in Norfolk, VA in support of the 60 Personnel Support Detachments (PSDs) world-wide.
In February 2017, I retired from government service and beginning to write the newest chapter in my life.
A proud father of three wonderful children and a grandpa to seven adorable grand children, my wife and I currently reside in Northeast Florida. Life is Good!
Other Memories A-l-o-h-a! It was the early summer of 1984 when we arrived in Honolulu and drove up to our new home in Mililani, Hawaii. Finding our home a month earlier was a story in itself. That can only be described as a whirlwind of a 96-hour excursion made possible by military flights from Travis Air Force Base near San Francisco to Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu. Despite looking at homes from one end of the island to the other, we were fortunate to find just the right house in just the right location, signing the papers only hours before we boarded our early morning flight back to California. Sometimes things just work out like that...
My new job at Commander THIRD Fleet was on an island within the island of Oahu called Ford Island. Used primarily as a small plane landing field and docking facility for our battleships during World War II, its primary use in 1984 was to host the THIRD Fleet headquarters, an oceanographic analysis center, and an Army transport facility. Whenever you see the Arizona Memorial or the battleship MISSOURI nowadays, you're seeing those Ford Island moorings. There were only two ways to get to Ford Island from the main island; by car/passenger ferry or water taxi. Just like changes in the wind or weather, the dependability of that transportation was not assured -- especially so for the 50 or so military families who resided in the few government housing units on the island.
I was assigned as the Staff Executive Officer and Personnel Officer. While my traditional administrative and managerial experience were particularly useful, I learned I was also the Fleet boathouse officer making me responsible for the Admiral's barge, the Chief of Staff's gig, and the associated maintenance and upkeep of those "water limos." As meetings and appointments were invariably off island, becoming intimately familiar with the mechanical, electrical and basic propulsion systems of those boats became a matter of career longevity. If anything didn't work properly, we had hours, not days before corrective actions had to be completed. Thank goodness I had some dedicated and experienced Sailors running the boathouse operations.
When not in goggles and overalls, the first two years on Ford Island were primo. In addition to overseeing the personnel actions for our staff, the superb Flag Mess, the building maintenance crew, and a few other 'cats and dogs' functions, I soon became the administrative, security, and awards officer upon the retirement of the incumbent Administrative officer. Even the most ambidextrous jugglers couldn't have had as many balls in the air as I did, without having plenty of experience. To this end, I was blessed with the kind of dedicated and experienced administrative, personnel and culinary specialists that kept me out of trouble and maximized mission accomplishment. It was my good fortune to lead a team of about 30 hard chargers who mastered the art of appeasing a staff of nearly 150 senior officers with multiple priorities -- and professionally getting the job done. Life was great!
But as the Navy priorities changed, so did the primary mission of our training and maritime exercise planning staff. We soon became much more operationally oriented and consequently, it became my primary duty to begin transitioning our shore-centric staff to an afloat mission aboard the Flagship USS CORONADO (AGF 11). Having flown to the East Coast to examine the few Staff spaces we would be assigned on CORONADO, it became quickly apparent that only a limited number of our Staff could physically fit/operate aboard. This required a detailed exam of the composition of our staff to determine who would embark and who would not. For those civilians and few Sailors who would not be coming aboard, it also meant I needed to find them jobs commensurate with their career needs and desires, and job availability ashore. Splitting up and leaving those who had helped me accomplish so much and asked for so little would be one of the most difficult things I'd ever have to do. While I wouldn't miss the daily ferry rides or small boat trips back and forth each day, I surely missed working and sharing my days with all of them. A finer bunch of all-stars, there were not...
The truth be known, the moment the ship leaves the pier and those three words are announced, a Sailor knows it's the beginning of another unique and very special time in one's life at sea. It is not a way of life everyone desires or can endure physically, mentally, or professionally. But for those who come to love the smell of the salty sea, the deep blue ocean water, and the nights of a million stars -- it is a life of adventure, purpose, and fulfillment.
Life aboard USS CORONADO (AGF 11) was every bit of an adventure from the day we embarked. As the Commander THIRD Fleet Administrative Officer, the first order of business was to establish the staff's general administrative processes and procedures with a team Sailors who hadn't worked together before, and some were experiencing life at sea for the first time in their careers. Admittedly, babysitting wasn't one of my strong suits. This wasn't duty ashore. We had equipment that needed to be installed and secured; some needing welding to the deck while other machines strapped down to prevent damage from the ship's motion at sea. In addition, supplies needed to be on loaded and properly stowed for sea, but only enough to fit in the limited amount of storage space we were allotted.
Having been the Admin Officer on the USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20), I experienced what it was like to be part of the ship's company whose job always seemed to be accommodating the many trivial demands of the Staffs we embarked. The Staff seniors in particular always acted like a bunch of prima donnas and were often disruptive to the crew. So now being on the other side, I made it my business to run interference between my Staff and the ship's crew by establishing a close relationship with the ship?s chief engineer, executive officer, and commanding officer. Instead of six senior department heads and the Admiral's office staff making individual demands on the crew, I became the single point man to track all the actions to be completed. This undoubtedly helped to facilitate a harmonious interaction between the staff and crew the entire time we were embarked.
With only a year aboard the ship, it was also the completion of my 36-month tour of duty and meant it would soon be time to transfer again. But a few months before I'd transfer, I learned about an education program whereby a limited number of applicants who were within 18 months of completing a college degree could attend college full time. As I had taken several night courses at Chaminade University of Honolulu and had already received several college credits for in service schools, courses, tests and my Navy experience, I applied for the program in 1987. Much to my pleasant surprise, I was selected into this college degree completion program and was permitted to complete my bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Chaminade. With the exception a few musters and periodic physical tests, my primary duty assignment was to be a college student in Hawaii. I paid for my books and used my G.I. Bill to pay the college tuition. After only 16 months of accelerated night classes, I got to walk the aisle in May 1988. What a great deal!
