Our newest member, CAPT Rich Madril has had a myriad of assignments and duty stations during his Navy career. Originally joining the Navy as a line officer in 1965 he joined the Navy as a line officer. While in OCS a minor problem in his left eye got him transitioned to the Supply Corps. Read on, his “sea stories” are great.
His first duty station was Midway Island where he relieved three 0-3’s handling stock control, material, and fuels. Eighteen months saw him transferred to the Admiral’s staff in Jacksonville where he was assigned as outfitting SUPO of a destroyer. After commissioning the ship finally got underway to train all the new guys.
While underway the 1MC blared out “LT Madril report to the bridge.” As happens to all of us when summoned by the skipper over the 1MC, he wondered where he screwed up so bad the old man used that command. When he got to the bridge, the CO told him “I have three JOs here and I want you to show them how to execute a Williamson turn”. He replied “sir I am a Supply officer”. That is as far as he got. The CO just said “do it”. When Oscar was safely aboard LT Madril was dismissed. As he was leaving the bridge he heard “There is a Supply officer and he made a perfect Williamson turn, now why the hell can’t you guys do it”?
A short time later it was off to a forward base on the Mekong River. Business as usual, except there was nowhere for the crew to get stuff like deodorant razor blades etc. In true SUPO style, when the CO told him to set up a small store…it was done.
When stationed at Rota Spain, he first met (then) Capt Giordano. Out of uniform for the time (dolphins were in); he was wearing an insignia later destined to be the insignia worn by qualified Naval Aviation Supply Officer that he had designed and made. CAPT Giordano got excited and took him to the Admiral that he was traveling with. The admiral said that is exactly what we need for my project of getting the an aviation insignia approved for the aviation supply officer program…the admiral took it and the rest is history.
After a staff tour at it was off to Diego Garcia and later the SUPO of a big deck…USS SAIPAN. Not only did he work with the Marines, but he had experience with the Delta Force when it was top secret. Follow-on tours included NAVSUP headquarters when the staff was reorganizing . He was assigned as the NAVSUP spokesman keeping commands aware of what was going on at HQ.
His final tour was at NAVSEA where he was in charge of monitoring logistics at all Navy ship yards and at commercial repair facilities.
Duty Stations:
OCS 8-12 ‘ 65
NSCS 1-6 66
NS Midway 7-66 2-68
COMFAIRJAX 2-68 3-70
USS Blakely 3-70 4-71
Viet Nam 4-71 4-72
NS Rota 6-72 6-76
AFSC 7-76 1-77
NAS Brunswick 1-77 9-79
CNMC 9-79 12-83 (Chief Naval Material Command)
Diego Garcia 1-84 1-85
USS Saipan 2-85 8-87
NavSup 9-87 7-90
NavSea 7-90 6-92
