Paloma Mohn

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Retirement July 29, 1993 LCdr. Michael A. Mohn

Twenty-two year career ends for LCdr. Mohn

By Barry McDonald
Editor

When he took the lectern at his retirement ceremony July 29, LCdr. Michael A. Mohn told a little story about how he first heard of China Lake. When he was a fairly new enlisted man attending a school in the eastern part of the country, during a discussion, one of his fellow students asked what it meant to be "relieved for cause." The instructor said, "It means you get sent to China Lake to hand out tennis racquets." He admitted that back east they didn't know a lot about what went on at China Lake.

Before giving Mohn the floor, Capt. Roger Hull, NAWCWPNS Vice Commander, pointed out that the lieutenant commander was the only surface warfare officer aboard NAWS, China Lake. But he didn't start out that way. Hull noted Mohn enlisted in 1967 as an aviation recruit. "At least he started out right," the vice commander joked.

But then at three months into the Navy his career took a turn and he ended up, two years of training and schools later, as a qualified nuclear power plant electrical operator. He later was qualified as an enlisted submarine warfare specialist.

Hull explained that in 1974 Mohn was accepted into the Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program and he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico. Then, after attending the Surface Warfare Officer Basic Course, while serving as main propulsion assistant aboard USS Rathburne, he qualified as a surface warfare officer.

Mohn said his retirement was a part of the "shake out in the Department of Defense." He added that this is a time of global changes. "I never thought I would see Russia dissolve," he said. "And I saw the Wall come down. Being asked to leave the Navy is a small price to pay to see these things happen."

He said he was fortunate to have his last tour be at China Lake, that he'd gained an appreciation for what it takes to get weapons into the fleet. His last two years at China Lake he served as deputy director of the Standard Missile Project Office.

Reflecting on his career, he said when he went from being an enlisted technician to becoming a manager or leader as an officer, he learned what the Navy was.

"All of the ships and planes and missiles and other weapons are not what the Navy is," he said. "They are just lumps of different types of material, and they are nothing without the people who design, build, maintain and operate them. The people make up the Navy."

Schooling and taking advantage of the opportunities dominated Mohn's career, which spanned a large part of what the Navy has to offer. He went from being a qualified nuke technician who made five Polaris deterrent patrols in the submarine USS Mariano G. Vallejo to operations officer of Destroyer Squadron 35, wherein he planned the largest multi-warfare exercise that had ever been done with ships homeported in Pearl Harbor and made two deployments aboard USS New Jersey, the last to the Persian Gulf. His career also saw him earn a sub-specialty in Operational Oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey.

According to his self-penned "career highlights," the hardest two years of his career were when he served as combat systems officer of the USS Ingersol, during the overhaul of the ship preparing it for deployment. He oversaw installation of two new weapons systems and went through every certification and at-sea exercise required.

Besides his duties with the Standard Missile office at China Lake he also served as project officer to the Warfare Analysis Office, the Advanced Technology Exploitation Office, NATO Anti-Air Warfare System Project and the Sparrow Missile Project.

In all Mohn saw duty at 22 different ports, schools or duty stations during his 22-year career. His awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation with a bronze star and several other medals and awards.

In summarizing his career, he wrote, "...never the same job twice, lots of training and educational opportunities and an incredible cast of people over the years have made me wonder how it all happened. I lived from day to day and week to week and never looked back. My career was very hard on my family, as most Navy careers are, and I am very happy with the close relationships I have with my son, Mike Jr., (23), and daughter, Michelle (20). I am also very grateful to end my Navy career with my best friend, my wife Brenda."

The Mohns were married in June of 1992 after meeting at China Lake. She is an environmental protection specialist in the Environmental Projects Office. They plan on staying in Ridgecrest for the time being.

Photo Caption:
ENDING his Navy career, LCdr. Michael A. Mohn accepts the traditional flag box from NAWCWPNS Vice Commander, Capt. Roger Hull. (Photo by Terry Pascarella)

Rktr08.12.1993.pdf

Rktr08.26.1993.pdf

The Last Voyage of USS MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN-658) - Submarine Force Library & Museum Association

Saturday, May 2, 2026

The Night of the Viking Blue Fairlane

The Night of the 1963 Viking Blue Ford Fairlane

In 1985, I had just turned seventeen. We were living in the Radford Terrace Navy housing on Sanders, just north of the Honolulu Airport. My dad was likely away on a deployment at the time; if he had been home, he would have been using the car for work and I wouldn't have dared to take it. I didn’t have a driver's license yet, but was not doing the smartest things back then, Anyway, the adventure that night was in a Viking Blue 1963 Ford Fairlane,

My dad kept it parked in front of the house on Anderson Avenue , we lived on Sanders Avenue, under a massive Monkeypod tree to shield it from the sun. The car was a magnet for the tree’s tiny leaves, which would tuck themselves into the trim and stay there until I hit the freeway, where they would all blow off at once. The street was dark and lacked decent lighting; the dense canopy of the tree made the car almost invisible unless there was a full moon. The neighborhood roads were weathered by the salt air; pitted, cracked, and stained dark by the constant Hawaii rain.

The Fairlane was a solid, silent cruiser. Back on the mainland, it had been very squeaky, but the tropical heat and humidity seemed to liquefy the old grease, naturally lubricating the parts and silencing the squeaks. Inside, the big blue dashboard had a long crack down the middle from the heat. The steering wheel was a large metal design with a chrome "horn ring" inside of it, a wheel within a wheel. It had an automatic transmission, big bench seats, and a warehouse-sized AC that provided a misty breeze that you could actually see at full blast; the cold air was always a massive relief. At home, we had no AC and used oscillating fans to keep us cool, but the humid nights were miserable for sleeping.

That night, my friend Jackie and I snuck out while only my mom and sister were home asleep. Because the street had a slight downhill slope, we put the car in neutral and let it roll silently away from the house and out from under the shadow of the Monkeypod tree before I turned the key. We had snuck a few beers from a cooler earlier—the kind my dad kept for parties, and I had stashed them away for the night.

I was part of the punk rock scene back then. I’d bleached my hair myself and kept the sides of my head shaved, but it wasn't really a conscious fashion statement, it was just the way I was and how I blended in with the crowd of punk rockers I hung out with. Being a Navy brat and moving so often, that world was how I found my footing and made friends.

We headed toward the airport, which was located right across the street back then. The air would shift as we drove, moving from the scent of dry brush into lush tropical foliage. At the airport, the smell was a heavy mix of sweet plumeria from the overnight lei boxes and the sharp sting of jet fuel. We drove into the old Aloha Airlines terminal. a deserted, open-air space. where we filled out luggage name tags with lyrics from punk bands like Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, and Bad Religion.

After stopping in Salt Lake to see my friend Hillary, we cruised through Waikiki. It was busy and glowing with the warm, yellow-orange hum of the old streetlights. Eventually, we drifted into Chinatown. Back then, it felt like another country and had a distinct smell of "dead animal" from the open-air meat shops. This was a smell that always stood out to me as I am not a big meat eater. I remembered the area from middle school field trips to a certain second-story restaurant where the windows opened right over the street. I would see those same windows later on while riding TheBus to the Ala Moana Shopping Center, remembering that it was where I first learned to use chopsticks and had my first authentic Asian flavors.

During the drive, I accidentally turned the wrong way down a three-lane one-way street in Chinatown. We passed a cop head-on, and he didn’t even blink. Despite being seventeen, unlicensed, and having had a couple of beers, we went unnoticed. To cap off the night, we stopped at a local diner under the double-decker freeway by the airport for some chili, rice, and spam. It was the perfect local comfort food, especially for a night like that.

I eventually drove back to Radford Terrace, rolled quietly back under the Monkeypod tree, and slipped the keys back. I ended up owning that Fairlane later in my life, and I really loved that car. Looking back, it was a total blast.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

From Sunny San Diego to the Windy City: My SBM 2026 Adventure in Chicago!

The SBM 2026 conference in Chicago is all wrapped up, leaving behind a whirlwind of fresh inspiration and purpose. Presenting a poster went smoothly, even had a few persons seeking it out based on the content, The sessions were mostly packed with the kind of content that makes the trip from San Diego feel entirely worth it.

Chicago really made for a memorable this week. Staying at Sentral on Michigan Ave provided a front-row seat to the city: the lake, the park, and the towering Sears Tower were right outside the window (I think it's not called Sears Tower anymore). Staying right next to the Hilton made the daily trek to the conference a breeze, allowing for more time to wander after hours.

The best moment happened while walking to a talk, there was Laramie, a fellow San Diegan was also attending the conference. What started as a chance encounter turned into a fantastic night of hanging out and catching up. It’s funny how a familiar face can make a massive city feel a little more like home.

The trip home, however, provided a very different kind of "memorable" experience. A final pre-flight meal with bottomless root beers seemed like a great idea at the time. That was until the Chicago rush hour traffic and a sluggish TSA line turned the trek to the gate into a race against biology. The "pee-pee hustle" is a real athletic event, and fortunately, it ended in a win just before boarding.

The main takeaway from the week? The area I was visiting in Chicago is incredible, the conference was energizing, and bottomless sodas are a dangerous game before a flight. Back in San Diego now, ready to put all those new ideas to work.

And most of all, so happy to be with Ms. Lucky again.