Rough seas, whim send ex-Toledoan on Navy odyssey

Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Tom Howard left Toledo after his graduation from Start High School in 1981. Enlarge

It was a flash decision.

Tom Howard, a rebellious 18-year-old from West Toledo, never had considered joining the Navy.

But there he was at the recruiting office at Miracle Mile shopping complex, signing up for a four-year tour of duty.

It was 1981, and Mr. Howard was working at Kroger, having just graduated from Start High School. He experienced a troubled few years: running away from home at 15, dropping out of Central Catholic High School, and, as his parents put it, making some friends "in the wrong crowd."

He had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.

So when Mr. Howard's best friend suggested they join the Navy together, it seemed as good a choice as any.

"I said 'OK,' " Mr. Howard recalled, a shrug in his voice.

"The next day, we went down to the recruiter's office and signed up. We didn't really think anymore into it."

Things didn't go quite as smoothly as the two friends expected, however. A few months later, just before the start of boot camp, Mr. Howard's trouble-prone buddy had a run-in with the local authorities and was sent home.

"So there I was, the guy who it wasn't his idea to go into the Navy, here I go by myself," Mr. Howard said.

"It was kind of a disheartening thing. Like, oh my gosh, now what?"

Thirty years later, Mr. Howard recognizes that moment as the start of his long and illustrious Navy career. It's a career that has taken him around the world - to Hawaii, Japan, Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among other places - and landed him near the top: as a fleet master chief for the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. He ranks second to the master chief petty officer of the Navy, the highest enlisted rank. The U.S. Fleet Forces Command is responsible for operations in the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr. Howard is one of four fleet master chiefs, and they work in concert with the top enlisted man to address manning, training, and quality-of-life issues affecting sailors and their families. He also offers advice to the commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. John C. Harvey, Jr., on all enlisted sailor issues.

Mr. Howard said he still draws on his experiences as a troubled teenager in Toledo to help other sailors.

"It's helped me relate in all different ways to today's sailor, and the different environments they grew up in and the social challenges that are out there," said

Mr. Howard, who lives with his family in Newport News, Va. "I think I have a better opportunity to appeal to them because I came from the same place as many of them."

Mr. Howard's job responsibilities mean he frequently travels to naval bases in the United States and to war zones to visit sailors. That often means spending time apart from his wife of 25 years, Lesia, and their three children - Evan, 16; Leah, 11, and Lauren, 8 - sometimes even on holidays.

But Mr. Howard's career also has allowed his family to live in many parts of the world with him, including Japan and Hawaii, experiences both he and his wife said they cherish.

"People say to me all the time, 'Oh, it must be awful to move your children all around,' and I have said, 'I can't imagine being a civilian, how boring your life would be,' " said Mrs. Howard, also a native Toledoan. "Our life has been so exciting. The kids have made a lot of friends all over the world and the country. The Navy is totally and truly an adventure, and I wouldn't have changed it for the world."

Even with the exotic travel, the couple still love visiting their hometown and their relatives in the Toledo area.

Mr. Howard fondly recalls his childhood days in the city and always makes a point of taking his family to his favorite haunt, Rudy's Hot Dog, on West Sylvania Avenue.

"We all know where our home is, and that's Toledo," Mrs. Howard said. "Toledo is our vacation spot. We go back every year. It's like a pilgrimage."

Mr. Howard's parents, who once fretted over what would become of their son, said they are overjoyed with his achievements.

"His career has just continued to blossom throughout the years," his father, Jerry Howard, said. "He loves what he does, and he does it well."

Steven Hackenhoff, a Toledo carpenter who has known Mr. Howard since they were in kindergarten together at St. Catherine School, said he's still surprised when he hears people address his old pal as "master chief."

"I still remember him as a high school chum," Mr. Hackenhoff said.

"Having grown up with him and seen him going into the Navy, you'd think he'd just stay three years and then leave like most people. But when he decided to make it a career, I thought, 'Good for him.' I'm very proud of him."

Mr. Howard will retire from the Navy in 2012 based on the requirements for his rank. But with 125,000 sailors to look out for, he doesn't have much time to think about that right now.

"He lives for our sailors and our Navy and our nation 24 hours a day," Mrs. Howard said. "He is never off duty."

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett at:

cbarrett@theblade.com

or 419-724-6272.