Acting SECNAV is a Coastie

Cal-Berkeley grad. Retired CG commander who has spent civilian career in finance, audits, and accounting. A bean counter. Not necessarily a bad thing but our Navy needs to continue with an aggressive ship building push and weapons and systems upgrade.

 
ekb1398 said:
It kind of glosses over it, but it also clearly states he spent much of his career operational, likely as a Cutterman.
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I didn't gloss over anything. My statement was about the Navy's need for new ships and systems and weapons upgrades. From the SECNAV's bio:
"A 20 year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, his career was marked by operational success including multi-ton drug seizures on the high seas."

It doesn't say he spent much of his career operational. It says he made a big drug bust and the rest of the bio focuses on his prowess with numbers.
 
Devil Doc said:
I didn't gloss over anything. My statement was about the Navy's need for new ships and systems and weapons upgrades. From the SECNAV's bio:
"A 20 year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, his career was marked by operational success including multi-ton drug seizures on the high seas."

It doesn't say he spent much of his career operational. It says he made a big drug bust and the rest of the bio focuses on his prowess with numbers.
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I didn't mean you glossed over it, I meant the article does. After more research, he was also a Deck Watch Officer, Supply Officer, Operations Officer, and Tactical Law Enforcement Team member for a tour each, for a total of seven years of experience before working on a fleet replacement program for buoy tenders and then leading further in to his career in finance. I'm not saying he isn't a bean counter, he definitely is, but I don't think he's in a vacuum about what operations are either.
 
ekb1398 said:
I didn't mean you glossed over it, I meant the article does. After more research, he was also a Deck Watch Officer, Supply Officer, Operations Officer, and Tactical Law Enforcement Team member for a tour each, for a total of seven years of experience before working on a fleet replacement program for buoy tenders and then leading further in to his career in finance. I'm not saying he isn't a bean counter, he definitely is, but I don't think he's in a vacuum about what operations are either.
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Oh, and I don't mean to down play his accomplishments or career. I love the Coast Guard and wouldn't care if the director of the Salvation Army came over if he/she were qualified. Another thing is, bean counters can be good at funding and not just de-funding or under-funding. I've run into both at my two HQ commands.

On a related side note, I've done drug ops twice. The one with the CG LEDET netted the largest joint USN/USCG seizure of cocaine up to that time. I have a video of the bales being off loaded from the boat. Fun times.
 
I sent him an email today. The nice thing about having a Coastie in the position is someone in the Navy finally understands what a traffic separation scheme. is.
 
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