Steve graduated from the Naval Academy in 1962 and reported for flight training receiving his "Wings of Gold" in 1963. His first tour was with Air Antisubmarine Squadron (VS) 31 Topcats, flying the S-2 Tracker where he earned over 100 carrier landings aboard the USS Wasp (CVS-18). 1965 the Wasp was the recovery ship for the Gemini space program and Steve flew spotter missions for Gemini capsules 4, 7 and 8. His next tour was as a flight instructor at Pensacola, Florida. Steve said teaching new pilots was one of the most challenging, but rewarding parts of his flying career in the Navy. After a sea tour aboard aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CVS-11) as the Assistant Combat Information Officer, he reported to squadron VS-32 Maulers as Maintenance Officer and Admin Department Head, later advancing to Wing 1 Safety Officer in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve then became the Branch Head for all carrier-based Antisubmarine Warfare and training aircraft at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, MD, where was also the Chief Test Pilot for the S-3 Viking. He joined the Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer community and was assigned to the Directed Energy Weapons program office in 1981 in Washington DC, as project officer for airborne laser systems for Naval Sea and Air Systems Command. Steve was responsible for the first destruction of an anti-ship cruise missile by an airborne laser weapon. His final tour was at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command where he was responsible for the initial deployment of a laser system aboard a U.S. Navy ship deployed to the Persian Gulf. Steve retired in 1988 after 26 years of faithful service supporting our country through Vietnam and the Cold War as an Antisubmarine Warfare aviator, instructor and test pilot, and helped usher in a new age of directed every weapons technology during the Strategic Defense Initiative in the Reagan Administration. He is pictured second from the right with his VS-32 fellow pilots.