Photo By Shelby West | Capt. Randy Reid becomes Norfolk Naval Shipyard's Deputy Shipyard Commander. Welcome...... read more read more
A graduate of Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Capt. Randy Reid continues to deepen his roots in Hampton Roads, now as Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Deputy Shipyard Commander.
Reid’s journey to his current destination began after turning down an acceptance to Virginia Military Institute and deciding to venture out to prove to his father that he could make it on his own.
“I searched for jobs that would pay well, and unfortunately, I lacked the experience that they required,” said Reid. “I thought if I joined the Marines, I would gain that experience to get a decent paying civilian job.”
Reid showed up at the Marines recruiting office, only to find out that the recruiter was running late. He figured he would kill time by talking to the Navy recruiter. After talking to the Navy recruiter and taking a test, he found out he qualified for the nuclear program and liked the pay and benefits.
When raising his hand for the first time, his goal was to graduate from nuclear electrician A-School, do his six-year required time and get out. That was until he started working for Chief Machinist Mate George Martin. Chief Martin showed Reid that the Navy offered many opportunities and programs that would benefit him both professionally and personally.
Reid ended up doing 23 years of consecutive sea duty before going to his first shore duty assignment. During this time, he made Chief Petty Officer. One of his chief friends approached him about applying to the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program.
“I had no clue what the LDO program was. I did some research and thought that it wasn’t much different than what I was doing back then. One thing that sold me was I would be earning more money for doing almost the same job and they were only advancing one electrician Senior Chief Petty Officer a year,” said Reid.
Reid is a plankowner for both USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). He also served as the Auxiliary Technical Assistant on USS Enterprise (CVN 65); Chemistry/RADCON Assistant (CRA) on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69); Hull Tech Division Officer and Planning and Estimating Officer on USS Frank Cable (AS 40); Reactor Mechanical Assistant (RMA) on USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); Force Quality Assurance Officer and Force Radiological Controls (RADCON) Officer at Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (COMNAVAIRLANT); Production Manager Assistant (PMA) and Repair Officer (RO) at NNSY Fleet Maintenance Submarines (FMB); Chief Engineer (CHENG) on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and N432 Intermediate Level Maintenance and Improvements Officer at Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic (COMSUBLANT).
“I want to take my experience and my knowledge and pass it down to the next generation,” said Reid. “I won’t pretend I have all the answers, because I don’t, but I will do what I need to do to find those right answers. It doesn’t matter if you’re the newest shipyard employee or someone that has been here for a few decades, we need to work together and come up with a solution for every problem presented to us.”
Reid continued, “We need to Get Real and Get Better on the basics, so that we then can focus on Getting Real and Getting Better on the more advanced issues and concerns. Without a strong foundation in the basics, we will not be able to move onto those advanced items. I don’t see the shipyard as in being part civilian, part Sailor. I see the shipyard as people with the same goal in mind and that is to get our ships and boats out on time to the Fleet so they can support the Navy’s mission.”
Reid is looking forward to being part of America’s Shipyard team. He looks forward to this opportunity and the challenges that are ahead of him. “We are one team with one mission and I am honored to be part of that team. I am looking forward to the great things that NNSY will accomplish in the future.”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2022 10:35 |
| Story ID: | 429601 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 426 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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