BRAVO ZULU 1970s ’71: CDR Jeffrey Albright, USN (Ret.), has been selected by his peers as a 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in litigationenvironmental in Albuquerque, NM/Regulatory Law, Environmental Law and Litigation-Environmental. ’77: CAPT Mike Tryon, SC, USN (Ret.), has been named president and chief executive officer of The De Novo Group, LLC. ’78: Col Bob Destafney, USMC (Ret.), was named “Military Hero of the Month” for July by the Pensacola, FL, Blue Wahoos, Columbia Southern University and Leidos.
Olson ’98 Named Navy Times “Sailor of the Year” Defense Innovation Unit Chief Medical Officer Commander Niels Olson ’98, USN, has been named the Navy Times “Sailor of the Year 2021” due to his work on the Navy's response to last year's COVID-19 outbreak aboard THEODORE ROOSEVELT. The pathologist ran Naval Base Guam’s testing laboratory during the chaotic spring and summer months of 2020, when roughly a quarter of the carrier’s crew caught the coronavirus and the ship sought safe harbor on the island to get its crew healthy again before continuing deployment. According to Navy Times, without the molecular lab that Olson oversaw there, and a data expertise that helped test and track sailors there before eventually getting them back onto the ship and out to sea, the task might have been extra daunting at a time of already substantial and evolving difficulty. “All my sailors knew what to do,” the 45-year-old married father of two said. “They knew why they were doing it and they didn’t need any extra motivation. They took care of the problem, I just happened to be the guy in the office.” Olson left Guam late last summer and is now assigned to the Defense Innovation Unit in California. ®
1980s
1990s
’83: CDR Carlos Del Toro, USN (Ret.), was sworn in as the 78th Secretary of the Navy during a private ceremony at the Marine Corps Memorial in Washington, DC, in August.
’93: Bob Kuberski has joined Cohen & Steers, Inc, a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, as executive vice president and head of the wealth management consulting group. CAPT Eric Hawn ’93, USN, assumed command of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington, DC, in August.
’86: CAPT John Surina Jr., USNR (Ret.), has been named chief financial officer of Genera, a manufacturer of sustainable pulp and molded fiber products from locally grown, annually regenerative fiber crops.
’95: CAPT Tom Foster Jr. USN, assumed command of KEARSARGE
from CAPT Neil Kprowski ’95, USN, in July.
2000s ’01: CAPT Jason Grant, USN, was assigned as the deputy director, field support activity at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, and received his Doctorate of Philosophy in organizational leadership from Regent University’s School of Business and Leadership. CDR Loren Jacobi, USNR, relieved CAPT William Eastham, USN, as the 45th commanding officer
of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron during an official change of command ceremony held on Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, CA, in August. LT Stephen Long, USN, has been appointed as chief executive officer of Global Laser Enrichment, LLC. ’07: LCDR Amaka E. Chidozie, USN, has been elected as the new business working group vice-chair and the only Navy representative to the Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment Consortium.
Do you know someone who deserves a Bravo Zulu? Send to comms@usna.com.
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38 SHIPMATE • OCTOBER 2021
