Navy retiree went from boiler room
to top of Europe's enlisted ranks
By Ron Jensen, U.K.
bureau
Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes
Fleet Master Chief Robert R. Hallstein holds an American flag presented to
him Friday during his retirement ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in London. The flag flew
aboard the USS Enterprise on July 4. |
LONDON — Robert Hallstein began his naval career making steam in the bowels of the
USS Roosevelt, a job referred to as boiler technician, or more commonly called a BT.
The temperatures where he worked reached high into triple digits. When sailors on the
ship misbehaved, they were often punished by being sent to the "hole," where BTs
like Hallstein always worked.
"It’s probably one of the dirtiest, nastiest jobs on a steam ship,"
Hallstein said in an interview Friday.
The job doesn’t exist in today’s Navy. Only old-timers even know what a BT
is.
The Navy is about to lose one of its old-timers when Hallstein trades the Navy uniform
he has worn for 25 years for civilian duds. His retirement takes effect at the end of
October, but he was honored in a ceremony Friday at the U.S. Embassy in London, just
across the street from the U.S. Navy’s European headquarters.
And the old BT has done pretty well for himself. He has been the Navy’s top
enlisted man in Europe — the fleet master chief — for more than two years.
Yet he still looks back fondly on those days making steam in the Roosevelt’s
belly.
"I think that’s got to be some of the fertilizer for my success," he
said prior to the ceremony. "I’m glad I stuck with it. I think that’s
really helped me."
The job gave Hallstein an appreciation for what it takes to keep the Navy afloat and
steaming along. And top brass that have come face-to-face with Hallstein in his current
job have been aware of the man’s humble — and backbreaking — origins.
"Every one of them had BTs [on their ships]," Hallstein said. "It gives
you credibility when you walk through the door."
At the ceremony, Hallstein’s enthusiasm, passion and devotion were mentioned time
and again.
"He is the epitome of what a leader should be," said Robert Walker, a friend
who was once the master chief petty officer of the Navy.
"He has literally touched the lives of tens of thousands of sailors —
officers and enlisted," said Adm. James O. Ellis Jr., commander of the U.S. Naval
Forces in Europe.
Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes
Fleet Master Chief Robert R. Hallstein, center, and his wife Cindy, wearing
yellow jacket, are "piped ashore" Friday during his retirement ceremony at
the U.S. Embassy in London. |
Ellis pointed out that due to Hallstein’s efforts, the Navy in Europe had a
retention rate of 72 percent and an attrition rate far lower than that of the Navy
overall.
Hallstein has seen his most recent role as helping the brass do what is best for
enlisted troops. He said some decisions are made with good intentions, but don’t
quite succeed when put into practice.
"When somebody makes a decision, it might be good for Norfolk, Va., but it might
not be good for Naples, Italy," he said.
His job has been to point that out to the command and he has not been shy about it.
"There is no issue — large or small — to which the man to my right does
not have an opinion," Ellis said. "He has been, he is and he always will be the
kind of individual who tells you what he thinks."
Hallstein, 43, was not yet 18 when he joined the Navy in 1976. He admits the Navy had
problems.
"We had a significant drug problem. We had equal opportunity issues," he
said.
Now, he said, the Navy is a place where the input of the enlisted sailor is valued.
Throughout the ceremony, Hallstein’s wife, Cindy, was singled out for her
contributions. The Hallsteins have been married for 20 years and have three children,
Daniel, 18, Cristin, 16 and Mathew, 13.
The job took Hallstein away from them often. He said he was on the road more than 200
days last year, wanting to be there — in Naples, Washington or wherever — when a
decision was being made that affected sailors.
In his remarks, Hallstein said he told his wife long ago that marrying a sailor would
be no rose garden. As he said those words, a sailor came forward and presented her with a
bouquet of roses.
She, too, has been active helping the spouses of sailors. One issue that has been on
her agenda is employment for spouses.
"We’ve been real vocal on that," she said.
For the children, post-Navy life will be an adjustment.
"I don’t know what I’ll wear without my millions of Navy T-shirts and
sweats," Cristin said. "I don’t know what real shopping is."
Daniel plans to be a commercial pilot. Mathew could not attend the ceremony.
Hallstein will soon begin working for a company that sells equipment to industrial
plants.
But if he could, he might just climb down to that boiler room on the nearest ship and
begin the last 25 years all over again.
"I don’t regret it. I don’t regret it at all," he said. "I
would join today."
Back to July stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
