Reflections of a NAVY Chief's Career
Ever wonder what became of that ship you sailed in? Click the image below to find out.
Co. 920, Recruit Training Center
San Diego, CA
APR 81
if any of you knuckleheads in Co. 920 read this, email me here.
BE/E, Naval Training Center
San Diego, CA
JUL 81
Had a great time in San Diego! Nearly got egged standing at a bus stop, saw The Kinks in concert, and got a ticket for jaywalking on the way to the arena! In all seriousness though, S.D. was a nice place to be in 1981.
EM
Class "A" School, Naval Training Center
Great Lakes, IL
SEP 81
Crabby, sorry about that. Would you believe that Chief Yelverton remembered?
Class 8202, Navy Nuclear Power School
Orlando, FL
DEC 81
A great education if you can handle the stress.
APL-31, Happy Acres, SUBRON 16
Kings Bay, GA
MAR 82
Bernadette from SUBRON 16, I wish I could've gotten to know you better. I hope you're okay and that you found your Clint Eastwood.
USS ORTOLAN (ASR-22)
The Navy's Finest Submarine Rescue Ship
Charleston, SC
MAR 84
Navy Recruiting District
Philadelphia, PA
SEP 86
What a JOKE! Never again in a billion years (at least not without getting a sales commission for all that stress)! Recruiting duty was, I'm not ashamed to say, the toughest assignment I had in 20 years. And allow me to set the record straight for any civilians who may read this: military recruiters do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get paid ANY extra money for putting your little Johnny in the service.
In fact, it's been my experience that 99% of the people who join the military already know that that's what they want to do BEFORE they ever meet a recruiter face-to-face.
I conducted a very unscientific poll after returning to the fleet, by asking my shipmates whether they were "walk-ins" or if they were convinced to join by their recruiter. In truth, I can recall only one person who said that their recruiter was the deciding factor in their decision to join. I've always found that rather interesting, despite the 'Private Benjamin' mindset that seems to pervade our society.
And now, a personal apology to those parents whose deepest wounds were inadvertently reopened: before recruiters had computers in the office, we were given lists of high school seniors and those who had recently graduated, and were required to call them frequently. The lists were kept in the office for months and years, and we weren't given updated versions too often. Please believe that I had no idea that your son had passed away when I called; otherwise, I would never have done so. I had no intention of causing you that anguish all over again.
USS DOYLE (FFG-39)
The Navy's Finest Guided Missle Frigate
Mayport, FL
MAR 90
In 1990 we escorted the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) to her new home in Alameda. We didn't go all the way to California, but the trip was cool because we went to Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and Punta Arenas and Valparaiso, Chile. I became a Shellback and went through the Panama Canal, too, joining The Order of the Ditch).
In '91 we went to The Bahamas and Bermuda, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, West Germany, Norway, Scotland and England. While in Germany I went to Falkenstein, a totally nude beach. Very cool, but I wasn't about to take my drawers off in public like that. While near Norway, we crossed into the Arctic Circle, saw the Northern Lights and became Blue Noses.
Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity
Mayport, FL
DEC 92
Made Chief at SIMA Mayport, a great place to finish up a career. Thanks to CDR Charlie Murphy, the best CO I ever had, and the fantastic folks in the SIMA Safety Office: LCDR Joseph Campisano, RM1 Frank Damato, HT1 Becky Bernhard, EM1 Bob Willett, ETCS Bob Hodges, GSM1 Gary Deutschendorf and HTC Rick Welsch. All things considered, it was a good twenty years and there isn't much I'd change.
Retirement Ceremony 16 APR 97
Transferred to the Fleet Reserve 30 JUN 97
Fully retired (30 years total service) 01 JAN 08
Fate has a way of coldly slapping us back into reality once in a while, which is an understatement since the events of 9/11. My way of coping is to memorialize my friends by paying tribute to them via this medium. If you wish, you may pay your respects here.
Email The Chief
This page was last updated on 04 July 2011