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 highlight of a Navy career is assuming command. Some might argue that having command of a large ship like a nuclear aircraft carrier is more challenging and therefore more prestigious than having responsibility over a command ashore. But I would counter; it is not the size or the shape of the command at the time you assume responsibility for it -- but the way you lead and the kind of shape you leave it in when you leave that are significantly more important.
May 2000 was a significant milestone in my career. I would again relieve a superb professional and my good friend as I took over as the Commanding Officer of the Personnel Support Activity in Jacksonville, Florida. I inherited a well-organized command and some veteran leaders and managers to keep it running with extreme precision. At the top, I had a compassionate, veteran Executive Officer and a truly wonderful Command Master Chief at either side to keep either hold me up, keep me on track, or otherwise keep out of trouble? Add a cadre six experienced Department Heads and 16 extraordinary Personnel Support Detachment Officers in Charge who supported over 750 thousand Sailors, retirees and their families, and you can quickly understand how honored I was to get this leadership opportunity.
Our team of some 650 Sailors and civil service employees had the responsibilities to provide the pay, personnel, passenger transportation and overall administrative support throughout the entire Southeastern Region. We had Detachments supporting our Sailors and their families ranging from Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, NC, to Beaufort and Charleston, SC. From Athens, Atlanta, and Kings Bay, GA to Meridian and Gulfport, MS. From Northern Florida in Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville and Mayport to southern points as Tampa Bay and even Key West. Our geographic footprint even covered our customers in Puerto Rico and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
To ensure we kept our primary focus on what was key and important, we created a coin or token with the command's logo on one side and the few words that would come to symbolize our mission objective: "Priority One: Taking care of our People." To earn such a coin was akin to saying that you individually demonstrated the essence of those words and accepted the distinction of being among the very finest in our command. During my two years of travels in my regional area of responsibility, I must have bestowed over 400 of those tokens of appreciation and gratitude to those who epitomized the best of the best.
Throughout that tour, morale was high, attrition was low; retention was at an all-time high, while disciplinary infractions were extremely low. Accuracy of pay/personnel transactions were high, while processing timeliness continually improved. Even after the horrific events of 9/11, our team of professionals kept their composure and focused on our mission objectives even harder. All in all, I believe our genuine care and concern for one another is the glue that kept us together and made my command tour so rewarding. I could spend hours retelling stories of the caliber of people I worked with, the wonderful friends we had, or the adventurous tales of the many travels my Command Master Chief and I made. But that will have to wait for another time or place. Suffice it to say, it just didn't get any better than that!