Station HYPO

We must never forget that Joe Rochefort’s career in the Navy began as an enlisted man. I’ve noticed each time one of the biographical sketches mentions someone’s time in the Navy started out as a white hat. Quite honestly, I, for one, believe a mix between former enlisted who’ve worked their way up, and the men and women who start out at the Academy or via NROTC or elsewhere via university or college, is for the benefit of the Navy and our country. The Navy itself, both in and out of uniform, provides a much better education than many people will ever realize. And in making this remark, I very much include the role the Navy has on the children of those serving on active duty. (I had a rough time in school—grade wise—as I attended 19 schools between kindergarten and graduating from high school. But I’ve long regarded the best part of my education being the fact that I had the great good fortune to attend schools from Maine to Hawaii and many places in between.) I owe a great deal to the United States Navy. As far as I’m concerned, my time in the Navy started at about the age of six when my dad, who had served in the Pacific in WWII, went back into the Navy in the early 1950s.

Quite a few “former enlisted” Navy ComInt personnel earned commissions in the course of their careers in the Navy. I’d bet my life on the fact these people made our Navy and our country a much safer place than either would have been without their service. And, undoubtedly, our ability in communications intelligence was greatly aided by the effort the entire community, officer and enlisted alike, contributed to the overall effort.

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