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Shaler native to command nuclear sub
Wednesday, September 19, 2001 By Virginia Miller
Robert J. Schmidt reached a major career goal two years early when he assumed command of the fast-attack nuclear submarine USS City of Corpus Christi.
"The ultimate goal is to achieve command within 20 years," said Schmidt, 40, an 18-year career officer and a 1979 graduate of Shaler Area High School.
The change of command took place July 13 during a ceremony in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, N.H.
The sub is scheduled to leave Portsmouth early next year to establish a submarine base on Guam in the western Pacific.
Schmidt's wife, Karen, and their four children will stay on Guam for the three-year command tour.
Schmidt's parents, Al and Kay Schmidt of Shaler, attended the change-of-commmand ceremony along with his sisters, Beth Schmidt of Overbrook and Patty Schmidt of Falls Church, Va., and other relatives and friends, including Pine Manager Gary Koehler, Robert Schmidt's friend since their sandbox days.
Koehler described Schmidt as "one of the smartest people I know" and very dedicated. "This is a major milestone, and the decisions he is making are significant," he said.
Schmidt's parents had mixed feelings at first about their son's choice of an underwater career, but they are proud of his achievements.
Koehler, too, admitted that he wondered why his friend chose submarine service. "I thought it was a scary place to be," he said.
Schmidt said he had no misgivings about running an underwater craft.
"It's like a pilot. Once you have experienced the professionalism and rigorous process, you have no qualms," he said.
Schmidt's parents said they recently watched on the Internet as their son, aboard a surface ship, towed a decommissioned submarine through the Panama Canal.
In May, he participated in a sea rescue in the Pacific while on a surface ship escorting a submarine.
"A sailboat was sinking. We heard its mayday signal and were able to save them," he said.
While in Portsmouth, the submarine is having its nuclear core replaced and is undergoing sea trials. Schmidt said he also is making sure the sub and crew are ready to go under the sea.
"Every sailor has a part and we depend on each other to make sure we come back to the surface," he said.
Schmidt said one reason he chose submarines rather than surface ships is the smaller size of the crew.
"Everyone knows each other and it's a more rewarding experience," he said.
His sub will be one of the first two to be home-based on Guam.
Schmidt would not discuss specific missions, saying only, "We are capable of supporting what the nation needs."
The screening process for submarine duty is similar to ships, he said, with an added psychological screening at the beginning.
"Once you are selected, there is a nine-month pipeline to weed out anyone not up to the skills needed," he said
Schmidt's naval career followed a family tradition.
"My Dad's father and uncle both served in the Navy, and I always had a respect for that service," he said.
But his own interest may have surfaced back when he visited Annapolis Naval Academy as a Boy Scout. As a Scout, he achieved the rank of Eagle, scouting's highest level.
A National Merit Scholar, he accepted a Navy ROTC scholarship, which he used at Villanova University near Philadelphia. He graduated in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and later received a master's degree in public administration.
During his college years, he spent summers cruising on various types of ships.
After graduation, he received instruction in supervising reactor plants, after which he was granted his first choice of assignments, serving on a fast-attack submarine, the USS San Francisco, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
It was his most memorable tour of duty, he said.
"I really came to love submarines and made lifelong friends," he said of the eight-year period.
A highlight for Schmidt's father came in 1987, when he and Koehler sailed aboard the USS San Francisco on a 13-hour cruise from Maui to Pearl Harbor.
"It was very exciting," Al Schmidt said. "We could watch on monitors what they saw in the periscopes."
Robert Schmidt has alternated sea and shore duties over the years.
He served as tactical exercise officer for the commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force.
He was engineer officer on the USS Los Angeles and fleet liaison to the Naval Sea Systems Command in Arlington, Va. In 1996, Schmidt became executive officer of the USS Cheyenne, then worked on submarine and naval ship construction programs at the Pentagon.
He spent the past year preparing to command the City of Corpus Christi.
Virginia Miller is a free-lance writer.
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