Enlisting in the US Navy Aug 1975, he went to Basic Training at Great Lakes, IL, and NATTC Lakehurst N.J. for ABF "A” school. Significant assignments were USS Kitty Hawk (2 tours) USS Midway, USS Independence, USS John C Stennis and Diego Garcia BIOT. During these assignments he made 10 deployments to the Western Pacific/Indian Oceans and earned eligibility for the VFW as part of Desert Shield/Storm.  Achieving the rank of Aviation Boatswain Mate Master Chief (ABCM) in 1994, he served until Aug of 2005.