Rudy’s one-liners
January 27th, 2012 | Don't ask Historical Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story Naval special warfare Navy Photos Retired Navy SEAL Team 2 SEALs Traditions | Posted by Bill McMichael
Retired Master Chief Rudy Boesch earned more than a few laughs Friday during his remarks at the East Coast SEALs’ celebration of the SEALs’ 50th anniversary (the West Coast SEALs marked it two weeks ago), both centered around his post-SEAL Team 2 days.
The 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act helped spark the 1987 formation of U.S. Special Operations Command. That same year, Boesch, coming up on 26 years as a member of SEAL Team 2, was one of three senior military enlisteds called to Coronado to interview with Gen. James Lindsay, the command’s first commander-in-chief — as the position was then known – to become the command’s first senior enlisted adviser.
Retired Master Chief Rudy Boesch at the East Coast SEALs' 50th anniversary celebration Jan. 27 at Joint Expeditionary Base - Little Creek. //U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Meranda Keller
“People were telling me that I would have to study ’cause I might get asked questions like, `Who was the president of Zimbabwe?’” He paused for effect and then added, offhandedly, “To this day, I don’t know who it is.” After the laughter subsided, he added, ”I wasn’t going to study to find out.”
When Boesch’s turn came to be interviewed, he said, “The general asked me how the hell I managed to stay in the military for so long. At that time, I had 42 years in it. Since I had a few more years in the service than he did, I told him that if he hired me, he would find out because he was going to have to do the paperwork to keep me in the service.”
After the laughter subsided, Boesch said, “He thumped me in the chest and hired me right on the spot.”
Boesch’s closing one-liner also drew laughs, but not for a joke the Navy would be pleased to hear expressed in a year following the reversal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays in the military.
“In 2000, I tried out for the first Survivor series on TV, and the rest is history,” Boesch told the crowd. “Some of the people in here have been asking me if I keep in touch with anybody in the Survivor [series].” He paused. “I don’t write to queers. ” He made it clear that he was talking about “homosexuals.”
So much for retirement …
January 4th, 2012 | Admirals Industry Navy Retired Navy | Posted by Bill McMichael
A Canadian security firm has added the former commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic to its board of directors.
On Jan. 3, security and identity management company Route1 Inc. announced the appointment of Rear Adm. Mark S. Boensel, who retired Jan. 1 after more than 33 years of service.
Boensel, who spent his last four years of active service at Mid-Atlantic Region, had an exceedingly diverse career that included years as a naval flight officer and flight instructor — he accumulated more than 3,200 flight hours and more than 600 carrier arrested landings — as a military assistant in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, as director of the Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Readiness Division and as commander of Navy Region Southeast.
Boensel also holds post-graduate degrees in Business Administration, International Relations, and National Security and Strategic Studies.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Admiral Boensel to the board of directors of Route1,” said Route1 Chairman Michael D. Harris. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and will make an excellent addition to our board.”
Roughead sighting
November 14th, 2011 | Chief of naval operations Navy Public policy Retired Navy | Posted by Bill McMichael
Retired Adm. Gary Roughead will spend calendar year 2012 as the Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Director John Raisian announced Monday.
Roughead, who stepped down as chief of naval operations and retired in September, will spend the year in residence at Hoover, located in Stanford, Calif. According to an announcement posted on Business Wire, Roughead will examine the “critical role of the military as part of the American way of life.” The announcement says that Roughead will work with former cabinet members George P. Shultz and William Perry, who also are in residence at Hoover.
Roughead’s research will “contribute substantially to the Institution’s focus on the role of the military on current public policy formation,” the announcement states.
“To focus on policy research and to collaborate with esteemed colleagues is an extraordinary opportunity to remain engaged in public policy,” Roughead is quoted as saying. “I am pleased to accept the prestigious offer of the Hoover Institution to serve as the Annenberg Fellow.”
“We look forward eagerly to having Gary Roughead as our colleague,” Shultz said. “He will bring vast experience, an exceptional knowledge base, and a sharp, critical mind to all our discussions.”