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 This time I would serve as the Assistant Flag Secretary to the Pacific Fleet Commander, a four-star Admiral. Our kids had acclimated to their respective schools, my wife had a job, I was getting involved with the neighborhood governming board, and also learned I was being promoted to Lieutenant Commander. After we discussed it as a family, we decided it would be fine to stay another tour. Hey, what's not to like?
Adjustment to the new Staff administrative job was easy. I had a great team of seasoned administrators who worked and played hard together. It was very much like having a family at work during the day and one to come home to at night. Our main responsibilities included receiving, processing, inventorying and routing the hundreds of pieces of correspondence throughout the command that came in daily. Similarly, we also had to edit, process and account for all the command's outgoing correspondence. In addition we processed hundreds of personal awards for our heroes in the Fleet, maintained a current library of regulations and directives, and protected our government's classified materials entrusted to us. The work days were routinely longer than in other places I had served, that often included half-day Saturdays in order to support our Flag Office personal staff's working hours in providing them the documents or clerical assistance necessary to accomplish the mission. It was also the first place I ever worked that exercised "ropeyarn Wednesdays" whereby the Staff was dismissed at noon in the middle of the week to play golf, relax or take care of personal errands.
I was only in the job for about ten months when our Admiral learned he was being reassigned to an even higher position and a new Admiral would take his place. Once the name of the new Admiral was announced, he began looking to select those he wanted to serve on his personal staff, like the Executive Assistant, Flag Aide, Flag Secretary, Flag Writer and Protocol Officer. Even though I was junior in grade, I was one of a short list of names nominated for the job as the Commander's Flag Secretary. After a short personal interview, I was honored to be selected for that prestigious Flag Sec position. It was a position that also came with the added responsibility of being the Commanding Officer of the Staff. Admittedly, the job was extremely stressful and as demanding as I had ever experienced. To succeed, you not only had to be highly knowledgeable and experienced in your field, but be ready to share that knowledge when, where or whatever time of day or night it was asked of you. Believe me, the mission, lives or careers (particularly mine) often depended upon being right the first time, ALL the time. There was no cherished prize for 'almost.'
Looking back, the challenge of that kind of high pressure position and working with that caliber of senior officers helped me grow and develop into a sharper administrator and stronger leader across the board. And when not running at a 100 mph, I also became acquainted with/and fond of playing my boss' two favorite sports, racquetball and golf -- both which I only regret not having taken up at a much younger (healthier) time in my life. Needless to say, both of those individual athletic venues got the competitive juices flowing to nearly a point of obsession, despite continually losing. In hind site, perhaps those hard fought losses ending up being a wise career move, too? But thank goodness I still possessed the wisdom to realize that while good, I would certainly never be great at either or I might have killed myself trying.
