Ronald Tucker

College Friend

“I remember an anthropology class I took at SMC. And I would say that that was the beginning of my intellectual life.”

You don’t start out life planning to become a commander of a battleship. And even if you did, your chances would be pretty slim. “There are fewer battleship commanders on this earth than there are astronauts,” says Ronald Tucker. “So I’ve been privileged to count myself among a very select little group.”

When Tucker came to SMC as a freshman he says he realized he “had a little growing up to do. So I went to enlist in the Navy.” But a recruiter steered the young man into an OCS program. “And after that,” remembers Tucker, “I had a goal for the first time in my life: I wanted to be a naval officer.”

The military—and the discipline it instilled—very much made the man, says Tucker. “After serving aboard my first ship, in the reserves, I decided to go all the way out and become ‘regular Navy.’ It’s been fun ever since.”

To a military man “fun” has a different meaning than it does to most of us. “I’m going through a course now, mandated by Congress, that all generals and flag officers have to attend,” says Tucker. “It’s basically a crash course in learning to speak the language all other services speak. And Desert Storm proves the value of this,” he continues, “because it was very much a joint effort.”

Though Tucker and his family have truly seen the world over the course of his distinguished career, he professes to a soft spot in his heart for his last command: the battleship New Jersey. “It was a super experience,” he reports. “I had 1,600 men and we were the first battleship in the Persian Gulf.” And it was difficult for Tucker to preside over his ship’s de-commissioning. “The New Jersey was Bull Halsey’s flagship in WWII,” he says wistfully. “It was the most decorated ship in the Navy.”

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