A native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Butler, Pennsylvania,[1] he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering and completed studies in nuclear power for service as a submarine officer. His career as a submariner included assignments onboard USS Flying Fish (SSN-673) as Electrical Material Officer, USS Tautog (SSN-639) as Electrical/Operations Officer, and Submarine NR-1 as Engineer Officer. He served as Executive Officer of USS Michigan (SSBN-727) Gold Crew before taking command of USS Honolulu (SSN-718) in March 1991.