Shipyard Spotlight: Margaret

ByEmileyMurphy

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Some people measure their civilian service in months, some in years, and still some,likeMargaretStroud,indecades.Six tobeexact.Asofthissummer Stroudwillbe retiringafter60yearsoffederalservice,and she’ll be finishing right where she started, hereatNorfolkNavalShipyard(NNSY) Stroudisunique(asidefromher60years) becauseheryearsworkingonNNSYarenot her only link to the installation In fact, a memberofStroud’sfamilyhasbeenworking for the shipyard since the 1860s when one of her ancestors was here building wooden ships

For Stroud, her journey with the Navy began early in life Born toward the end of 1941, she was only months old when Pearl Harborwasattacked “Myparentswereout having breakfast at a restaurant, and I was on the seat beside them when they heard about Pearl Harbor,” she says. “My dad was aformerNavyman,soitwasveryupsetting for him, especially a little later when his [former] ship, the [USS] Indianapolis, was sunk. And I am not sure he ever recovered fromthat.”

Soon after, her father would pursue a job at NNSY, where he spent the next 40 years advancing through the shipyard, first as an electrician and finally retiring as a firecontrolmaninstallingPolarismissiles.However, hisdaughter’spathwaythroughtheshipyard would take a different route At 22, Stroud workedatasmallofficeindowntownPortsmouth,Virginia,whensomeoneapproached heraboutworkingfortheshipyard.

“Someone advised me that it would be a good idea to get a job at the shipyard where Iwouldhavebenefitsandmakemoremoney, and so I did,” Stroud laughs “I just came to the Labor Board Building walked in, and told them I’d like a job they gave me a test, and I made 100%, so they told me to report intwoweeks!”

Stroud has plenty of stories to tell about heryearsatNNSY,butonestoryrisestothe top. It was November 1963, and Stroud was a new hire at NNSY when national events madeadecidedimpact

“I was working there in the Labor Board Building when the girl beside me got a call and we were told that John F. Kennedy had been shot in Texas, and later we heard that he had died, she says, shaking her head. “So, a couple of hours later, when I left the shipyard,withallthedozensofpeoplewho walked out with me, all I can remember was that [they] were such sad people.” She sighsandcontinues,“Therewasahugeflag flying over that part of the shipyard and I just looked at it, and at my young age that wasjust…itmayhavebeenmyfirstencounterwitharealtragedy.

Afterseveralyearsandpromotions,Stroud attended college classes at night to earn 24 semesterhoursinaccounting Lookingback atthattimeinherlife,shereflectsthatifshe couldhavegivenheryoungerselfadvice,“I wouldhavestartedgoingtoeveningcollege and getting my education sooner, but there wasn’tabigpushforwomentogotocollege back then.” Stroud’s inner drive and determinationpushedhertoadvocateforherself and seek ways to promote beyond the jobs offeredtowomen.Thatdrivepromptedher to leave NNSY to expand her opportunities available.Withhernewcollegecredentials, shesetouttofindotherpositionsandspent much of her civilian career working for different service branches throughout the deployment to the Mediterranean and BalticSeas;supportedSeaTrialsfortheU.S. Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopter;andreceivedtheBattle“E”awardfor having the highest overall and departmental level of readiness to carry out assigned wartimetasks

“Serving these past two years with this crew aboard Arlington has been the honor of my career,” said Kellum. “I am blown away by their teamwork, tenacity, and grit. Taking this ship over the horizon last year into the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility showed the strength honor and fortitude of our Navy and Marine Corps team. I look forward to hearing the future successes of ArlingtonunderCapt.Scaliatine’scommand as they go forward protecting democracy around the globe.”

Kellum’s next assign- ment will be chief of staff at Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2. Commissioned April 6, 2013 Arlington is the eighth San Antonio-class ship and third named after ArlingtonCounty.Itisalsooneofthreeships named in honor of the victims of Sept. 11, alongsidetheSanAntonio-classamphibious transport dock ships USS New York (LPD 21) and USS Somerset (LPD 25). Arlington has completed three deployments in the decade since its commissioning and is currently undergoing ship-wide upgrades andpreservativemaintenanceattheGeneral Dynamics/NASSCO shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. Mrs Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of the lateSecretaryofDefenseDonaldRumsfeld, isArlington’ssponsor

HamptonRoadsarea.

Shecamefullcirclewhenshereturnedto NNSYin2015asanAdministrativeAssistant forCode2370 “Mypresentjobismyfavoritejob it’snice nottodothesamethinghourafterhour,”she says “[Here] administrative assistants get to meet and talk with the other employees so you have the people connection I didn’t enjoyasmuchinpreviouspositions. This month, Stroud will sign out of her government-issued computer for the last timeandbeginhernextjourneyasaretiree This time she plans to volunteer with chil- dreninschoolsandinhospicecare,assisting terminallyillpatients Whenthinkingabout herretirement,Stroudreflectsonajobwell done: “My dad loved the shipyard so much that it made me feel good to know that he wouldhavebeenproud.”

After 60 years, Norfolk Naval Shipyard extendsaBravoZulutoMargaretStroudand offers a heartfelt thank you for her years of service.Fairwindsandfollowingseas Mrs Stroud, may your next journey be just as incredibleasthefirst.