U.S. Navy Career

U.S. NAVY BACKGROUND

Midshipman, NROTC University of Utah

 

Midshipman Captain & Battalion Commander Fall Term 1959
  • Entered NROTC as Contract Student September 1956
  • Selected for Regular Scholarship September 1957
  • AWARDS:
    • Selected by peers as Outstanding Midshipman for Sophomore, Junior and Senior years
    • Selected by Commanding Officer to be NROTC Battalion Commander with rank of Midshipman Captain for Fall Term 1959
  • CRUISES:
    • 1958 – San Diego and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
    • 1959 – Corpus Christi, TX & Coronado, CA
    • 1960 – Mediterranean Sea

Active and Reserve Duty:

Rank and Promotion Schedule

 

Captain, USNR at CNO Residence July, 1989
  • Ensign, USN, 12 September 1960
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade, USN, 1 July 1962
  • Lieutenant, USN, 1 July 1964
  • Resigned regular commission, left active service, 16 June 1965
  • Lieutenant Commander, USNR, 1 July 1969
  • Commander, USNR, 1 January 1976
  • Captain, USNR, 1 April 1982 
  • Retired 1 October 1990 with 30 years total service

Duty Assignments

  • USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729), CIC Officer; Fleet Officer of the Deck (OOD); Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Attack Team OOD; Senior Command Duty Officer; Head of Weapons Department; 9/60-7/63

  • NROTC Rice University, Houston, TX, Associate Professor Naval Science; 7 /63-6/65
  • Naval Reserve Research Company 8-3, Texas A & M; 6/68-7/70
  • Naval Reserve Research Company 6-8, UNC-CH, Executive Officer; 8/70-1/71
  • ASW Operational Control Unit 9R1, Norfolk, VA., Operations Officer; 2/71-9/74
  • ASW Support Unit 2106, Norfolk, VA, Operations Officer; 10/74-2/77
  • Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) Det 106, Norfolk, VA, Senior Fleet Desk Watch Officer;  Senior Joint Operations Center (JOC) Watch Officer; 3/77-9/79. Senior Force High Level Terminal Officer; 10/79-9/81;  Operations Department Head; 10/81-9/82
  • VTU 0607, Norfolk, VA, TAD to CINCLANTFLT Det. 106 for special project; 10/82-9/83
  • CINCLANTFLT Det 106, Norfolk, VA, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations; and qualified JOC Supervisor; 10/83-9/86.
  • TACTRAGRULANT 106, Virginia Beach, VA. Executive Officer, 10/86-6/88;  Commanding Officer, 7/88-10/90.  TACTRAGRULANT trains senior naval officers and Carrier Battle Group & Battleship Battle Group Commanders in Advanced Fleet Battle Group Tactics.
    • The first three COs of this reserve unit, and the activity duty CO of TACTRAGRULANT are shown below, as well as the billboard sign for my change of command and retirement ceremony:

As shown in the figure below, on 17 June 2019 I had the pleasure of giving my son, Michael, his oath at his promotion to full Colonel in the Air Force, where he assumed his duties as Chief Protocol Officer for the National Guard Bureau in the Pentagon, Washington DC.

Performance Awards

  • Commanding Officers Commendation, awarded by CO USS LYMAN K. SWENSON for outstanding performance as Weapons Department Head, where ASW and Gunnery Performance scores were raised significantly during tenure.
  • Meritorious Service Medal, awarded by the President of the United States for outstanding leadership and performance of duty as Commanding Officer of TACTRAGRULANT 106.
  • “Best of the Best Award”, awarded twice by COMMANDER, NAVAL RESERVE READINESS COMMAND, REGION SIX, Washington, DC to TACTRAGRULANT 106 during tenure as Commanding Officer (1989 and 1990). Selected as the top unit from among 165 other medium size units in the command.

Where is the Swenson Now?

For my shipmates, I am happy to say that the Lyman K. Swenson still lives in spirit. Though the ship below, a Taiwan guided missIle destroyer (DDG-927), is built on the hull of the USS Hammer (DD-719), some of the weapons systems computer components are from the Swenson. Here is a picture of her sent to me by Chen Fu Lu (flchena@tsmc.com.tw):