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‘Hutch’ is
50; a Navy man all of his life. He is compactly built, 5’10”,
steely grey hair, in a crew cut. He has a face that has been
accused of ‘stopping a clock’, one that wears the look of many
fights and other ‘activities.
He retired
from active service two years ago, trying his hand at several
jobs, government related, but while he did them well, he found
he wasn’t happy in his work, and he missed the service. He had
heard thru a service friend that that Nelson Institute was
hiring, specifically looking for service and service related men
and women, and on a dare from his friend, sent off a resume. No
one was more surprised than Hutch when a certified letter
arrived, with a plane ticket, asking him to come to Santa
Barbara for an interview. He immediately called his buddy, who
had been refused by the Institute, to tell him of his good luck.
One way or another, Hutch was going to do the best he could to
get any job on the grounds of the Nelson Institute.
When he
arrived in Santa Barbara, he was immediately taken to a large
conference room and was met by the largest number of brass than
he had seen in more years than he could count. Admiral Lee
Crane, Captain Chip Morton, Captain Matty Weaver, Captain Robert
Crane, Captain Sean Nelson, and Commander Alex Morton were
seated at a conference table, waiting. He had been ushered in,
greeted, and seated before he realized what was happening to
him. For the next four hours he was questioned and interviewed
by the group, the end of the meeting being that he was offered
the job of the Chief of the boat of the S.S.R.N. Nelson. He was
escorted to a near by row of cabins, and given all he would need
to spend the night, several nights if he wanted.
He had
collapsed into a chair with his good fortune, and when the
reality of the moment settled in, he took a look at the pile of
paperwork left for him to peruse, if he needed to know more
before accepting the position. He knew it was the job of a
lifetime, and while he didn’t want to seem too anxious, less
than a hour after he had been established in the guest cottage,
he called Lee Crane to tell him he would be taking the job.
Less than an
hour later, there was a knock on the cottage door, and a very
elegant woman stood, waiting to be invited to enter. She was in
her seventies, classically dressed, and had a small smile on her
face.
Karen Davis
Nelson, CEO of the Institute, had come to call on the new COB of
the Nelson. She stayed late into the night, talking to Hutch,
and in essence welcoming him aboard.
The next
day, a car arrived for him and he began his tenure on the Nelson
in such a way as he had never imagined.
‘Hutch’ was
born on the North side of Chicago, near Lincoln Square, an
ethnically diverse area of the city. The fourth son of nine
children. His father Isaac, owned and operated a Kosher Deli,
and ‘Hutch’ and his siblings all worked in the shop. From an
early age, he swept the store before school, and after school,
delivered groceries on his bike.
His father
was deeply religious, and while at home, ‘Hutch’ respected his
father’s beliefs, and followed the dictates of his father. Once
out of the house, he disregarded the faith for many years.
He enlisted
in the Navy at seventeen, just out of high school, and for the
next few years, spent his service tenure with munitions and
nuclear weaponry. Taking all possible courses in his free time,
he managed to his surprise, as well as others to get a BS in
Electrical Engineering, with a minor in nuclear science. Once he
obtained his degree, his promotions came with increasing speed,
the only problems he had coming with several ‘altercations’
regarding his ethnicity. He was dropped in rank twice, and had
to work twice as hard to overcome the prejudice that his defense
of his origins brought him.
He retired a
40-year man, with the rank of Master Chief, his specialty over
the years nuclear weapons, on boats. He held a Masters degree in
nuclear science, one thing he kept from general knowledge to his
subordinates. He was know as a fair superior, and he had a
habit of seeing the best in his men, in spite of what their
records may indicate. He was known for not asking his men to do
anything he wouldn’t do himself, including those tasks
considered dangerous ones.
He is a
Master Diver, he holds several advanced degrees in the
engineering fields and is a caring and compassionate, if
somewhat crusty and bluff person. He is the perfect person for
COB of the Nelson. |
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