By the age of 64 most people seriously consider retirement after long careers. That isn’t true for all, and for an airfield electrician at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the number 64 represents the total number of years he has directly supported the United States Navy.
Originally from Norfolk, Virg., Dave Stasel spent a 28-year career in the Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in 1992 after serving as an Electronics Technician (ET), Communications, Maintenance, and Data Voice specialist. While on active duty, Dave deployed to several different areas, including serving in Vietnam, Antarctica and the Naval Research Laboratory.
During his last final active-duty tour while stationed at NASWI Dave Stasel began working as a machinist for a base contractor. After he obtained his Journeyman Electrician License, he leveraged his unique electronics background to reliably maintain NAS Whidbey’s airfield electrical system.
Today, at the bright age of 81, has obtained legendary status as the airfield’s premier electronic maintenance official. His technical mastery has kept the oldest Navy airfield electrical system operational for over 30 years.
While airfields of this scale typically require a team of three or more electricians, Dave not only serves as the primary expert, he also often executes the bulk of the work while training vital backup personnel.
Dave’s resourcefulness has also saved the Navy over $500,000 by executing advanced repairs and utilizing legacy parts until a modern infrastructure update can be installed. Dave’s career stands as a masterclass in leadership, ingenuity, and unwavering commitment to naval readiness.
Dave has no current plans to retire as he continues to love the work that he started learning when he was 10 years old. His father was also an ET in the Navy, and Dave’s son followed tradition joining the Navy as and ET, a field he continues to work in.
| Date Taken: | 08.31.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2026 09:54 |
| Photo ID: | 9906694 |
| VIRIN: | 260831-N-N0218-1001 |
| Resolution: | 4032x3024 |
| Size: | 2.85 MB |
| Location: | OAK HARBOR, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 1 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Playing a Vital Role for more than Six Decades, by Mike Welding, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
