Hubbard expressed his gratitude to the numerous individuals in the community who maintain a steadfast support of NAF El Centro. In his characteristic self-effacing, always humorous manner, he also thanked his staff for keeping him out of jail, and even thanked his 77-year-old parents, who were in the audience, for having sex all those years ago thereby making his life possible.
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Hubbard was awarded the Legion of Merit Award for exceptional meritorious service from December 2005 to March 2009, his tenure as Commanding Officer, during the ceremony.
He is a 1981 graduate of U.S. Naval Academy where he attended Surface Warfare Officer School, serving aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) before being selected for aviation transition. He received his Naval Aviator designation in 1985. His sea duty included tours with the "Seabats" of VAW-12, flying the E-2C Hawkeye on USS Coral Sea (CV 43) and with the "Black Eagles" of VAW-113 on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).
Nearly ten years later, in 1994, Hubbard began flying the C-2A Greyhound, Carrier Onboard Deliver (COD), and joined the "Providers" of VRC-30. He served as Officer in Charge of Detachment FIVE, permanently forward deployed to Atsugi, Japan in support of Carrier Air Wing Five and USS Independence (CV 62).
Hubbard also commanded the "Rawhides" of VRC-40 in Norfolk, VA supporting all Atlantic fleet carriers and served as Air Boss aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
He has accumulated over 4,500 flight hours and over 500 arrested landings on 15 different carriers.
Hubbard's shore tours include instructor duty at NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA. and on the staff of US Fleet Forces Command Anti-Terrorism Directorate in Norfolk, VA. He holds a Masters degree from the National Defense University's Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) in Washington, DC.
Despite the pageantry of the Blue Angels decorating the sky with their acrobatic skills, and the crowds wandering the grounds of the annual Air Show, the outgoing CO kept his remarks low key and brief.
"Speeches should be like skirts: short enough to cover the good stuff, but long enough to keep it interesting," he told the crowd. He thanked the numerous individuals on his staff and in the community who "kept me out of jail."
On a more serious note, he said his key to success was to "surround yourself with great people and let them do their job." He believes that NAF's mission is "one team, one fight," and the family of government, civilians, defense contractors, sailor and friends all pulling together to make that mission work was something he will always be proud of. Hubbard said that he would wear his medal as a symbol of that accomplishment.
The incoming Commanding Officer Captain Ritchard R. Thompson, thanked Hubbard, praised his service, and told the crowd he was inspired by the warm welcome he'd already received in El Centro.
Thompson hails from Jacksonville, Fl. He received a Civil Engineering degree from the Citadel in 1987, and earned his wings of gold in 1989.With the "Red Lions" of HS-15 at NAS Jacksonville, he made two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, participating in Operation Provide Comfort after the first Gulf War. He was then assigned to the "Seahorses" of HS-1 as an instructor pilot. He then made another deployment to the Mediterranean from Naval Station Norfolk, in support of NATO operations in Bosnia. Thompson's next assignment was with the "Dusty Dogs" of HS-7 at NAS Jacksonville, heading to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Fox. He then attended the Australian Command and Staff College, after which he served the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. in the NATO Policy Division. While there, he was selected for squadron command, assigned to the "Golden Falcons" on North Island, CA. He completed two deployments to the Western Pacific, one of which was Operation Unified Assistance, the tsunami relief operation in Indonesia.
Thompson's most recent posting was at Navy Personnel Command at Naval Support Activity Millington, TN as Helicopter Commander Detailer. His medals include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and various campaign awards.
At the conclusion of the Change of Command Ceremony NAF El Centro, Hubbard told the crowd, "In just a few minutes I will be just plain "hubs." He walked off stage and had his pants cut into a pair of shorts. He relinquished his cover, donned a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops. Hubbard said that without the men and women in the U.S. Navy, the freedoms we enjoy in our lives would not be possible. Now that he's retired, he plans to buy a sailboat and cruise through the Panama Canal, along South America and beyond.
He finished up by reading a quote that had been on his father's office wall:
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." -- John Stuart Mill, 1857
