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On December 20, 1966, when he was 17 and a senior in high school, David Tucker joined the 10th Fleet Division of Naval Reserve in Rochester, NY. He went to Boot Camp in August 1967, and then served two years of active duty on the USS Boxer LPH 4 as a Machinist Mate assigned to B Division. After leaving the Reserves in 1972 as a Machinist Mate 2nd Class, Mr. Tucker attended Syracuse University School of Architecture and graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. The Reagan buildup of the 1980s drew Mr. Tucker back to the Naval Reserve, and he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Civil Engineer Corps of the U.S. Navy. Serving as an Ensign in NMCB 13, he attended CECOS in 1982 and held billets as Assistant Admin Officer, H Company Commander, and Assistant Training Officer until 1984, when he became Echo Company Commander in Upstate NY. As Air Detachment Officer, he had two successful deployments, one in 1986 to 29 Palms, CA, and the other in 1987 to Fort Drum, NY, for a full Air Det Exercise, where his Det became the first one on the East Coast, Active or Reserve, to successfully pass this arduous exercise. His Echo Company won the Josephal Award for best Reserve Company in New York State that year. Mr. Tucker served as Embark Officer of the 21st RNCR in Rhode Island, served as Training Officer and Operations Officer in NMCB 12, and was promoted to LCDR in 1990. A tour of duty in Naval HQ London in 1994 was a career highlight. In 1994, Mr. Tucker was called to active duty and was seconded to the United Nations in Bosnia, where he served as Engineering Officer for the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo during that conflict. In charge of infrastructure for 35 refugee camps, Mr. Tucker traveled extensively “downrange” in that country, providing S2 in Zagreb with valuable intelligence, as well as providing shelter and basic services for refugees. He was awarded the Joint Distinguished Service Medal. Returning to the U.S. in 1995, Mr. Tucker was chosen as XO of NMCB 27 in Brunswick, Maine. He was called to active duty in EUCOM Stuttgart, Germany, in 1996 to help write the Logistics section of the withdrawal plan from Bosnia. In 1998, he was selected to serve as an Action Officer on the Logistics Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon. From 1998 to 1999, Mr. Tucker trained and served as a Watch Officer, routinely relieving active duty CEC Officers during Christmas and other holidays. He was selected for Commander in the fall of 1998. In 2000, Mr. Tucker voluntarily gave up his billet to concentrate on building his architectural firm. In February 2001, he performed his last drill at NRC in Rochester, NY, where he presented the CO of the Center a photo of his father and the 10th Fleet Division in March 1941 on the USS Castor after being activated a full 9 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr. Tucker is a Project Manager with Beardsley Design Associates in Auburn, NY, and resides with his wife, Helen, in Marcellus, NY. Who We Are How to Join Members Page HomePage Index Navy News Naval HistoryShip Locator Links FeedbackCredits NAVetsUSA Events Send comments to navetsusa@earthlink.net  View
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