Chief Oglesby

For my first 6 years in the Navy, I worked as a radar electronics technician, but I was not interested in the rating (Navy job title), so I did my job during the day and then taught Taekwondo and Judo classes at night. While stationed in Keflavik, Iceland, I did the same thing; I did my job during the day and taught martial arts every night. My main concern was the martial arts, and I did not study sufficiently for the Navy promotion tests.

Along with the martial arts classes, I also taught a police tactics course for the on-base Los Angeles Community College. One night, during a class break, I was talking with one of my students, MAC (Master-at-Arms Chief Petty Officer) Oglesby (master-at-arms is the traditional name for the Navy’s law enforcement job rating). As we talked, the chief casually mentioned that, with my interest in law enforcement, I should convert from the electronics technician rating to the master-at-arms rating.

After the conversation, that statement kept creeping into my thoughts, so I decided to take action. I started college classes and earned an Associate of Arts degree in administration of justice. I completed every Navy correspondence course that was related to law enforcement. And then, I applied to convert from the electronics technician rating to the master-at-arms rating. The request was denied due to the time and money the Navy had invested in my training (2 years of electronics training), my having received a reenlistment bonus, and my commitment to serve in the rating for 6 years; at this point, I had only served 4 years. 

I continued to complete Navy correspondence courses and took on-base college courses toward a BA degree. Due to the transfer of airfield radar repair responsibilities from the Navy to Icelandic civilians, I was able to transfer to the base police department. I excelled while with the department and submitted another request to change my rating. With the support of my superiors and the law enforcement training I had completed, the Navy relented and allowed me to change ratings.

From that point on, I excelled in every job and advanced at every opportunity. I earned both a BA and an MA, received numerous Navy commendations, and ultimately retired at the highest enlisted rank. All of it traces back to a casual conversation with Chief Oglesby. He wasn’t advising me or trying to recruit me into the master‑at‑arms rating; he simply made an offhand comment during a class break. Yet that small moment set everything in motion.

From this experience, I learned that a few casual words can shape the course of another person’s life. In my case, those words had a positive effect, but they could just as easily have gone the other way. People are always listening — sometimes intentionally, sometimes by chance — so it’s important to choose our words carefully. What we say in passing may stay with someone for the rest of their life.