Photo By Jhon Parsons | From left: Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division Technical Director Jeff...... read more read more
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Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) team members past and present gathered at the command on July 12 to honor former Deputy Technical Director Jim Vallas and celebrate his induction as the 12th Distinguished Alumni in the command’s 60-year history.
Distinguished Alumni are recognized for their significant contributions to NSWC PHD’s mission — a mission Vallas helped evolve over 43 years. In addition to improving the U.S. Navy’s technical capabilities and streamlining NSWC PHD’s operational systems, Vallas left behind an enduring legacy of meticulousness, encouragement and humility.
“It didn’t matter whose name was on the front door, whoever the [commanding officer] or the technical director was. There was really no mistake as to who ran the command — that was Jim Vallas,” said Capt. Tony Holmes, NSWC PHD commanding officer. “I saw it every single day — the major decisions being made, the advice, the technical competence.”
Holmes worked with Vallas while stationed at NSWC PHD from 2011 to 2014, serving as a former Land Attack Department officer. Holmes recalled attending meetings in Vallas’ office dubbed “The Vallas Palace,” and told a memory of the shared sense of humor between the leaders.
“We had a lot of hard challenges; I appreciated the discussions and the mentorship along the way, so I wanted to say thank you for that,” Holmes said. “When it comes to the people here at this command, you care. You cared about every single one — about where they were going and about what their future looked like.”
Technical Director Jeff Koe similarly remembered Vallas’ comprehensive oversight, though from a different perspective within the workforce.
“I didn’t have the opportunity or the pleasure to work under Jim directly…but I always watched how he led the command from afar — how he kept everyone in line, always providing consistency across the command,” he said.
Koe expressed his determination to restore some of the policies Vallas instituted during his tenure at NSWC PHD, from handling distinguished visitor events to staff hiring and promotion processes.
“In my mind, in my heart, I think this ceremony is long overdue,” Koe added.
Systems pioneer
Mike Horton, Combat Systems, Test and Evaluation Department manager, described Vallas’ 51 years of naval service.
An electrical engineer, Vallas joined NSWC PHD in 1971 under the command’s previous name, Naval Ship Missile Systems Engineering Station. He initially focused on system issues with the Navy’s Tarter, Terrier and Talos missiles, then transitioned to introducing the Standard Missile 2 into Aegis combat systems.
“Under the leadership of (Rear) Adm. Wayne Meyer, who is regarded as the ‘Father of Aegis,’ the scope and scale of our combat systems and missile systems today on our Aegis destroyer and cruiser ship classes has been dramatically changed,” Horton explained.
Horton drew attention to USS Lake Erie (CG 70), a Ticonderoga-class cruiser docked in Port Hueneme Harbor at the time of the ceremony and equipped with the Aegis system Vallas originally developed alongside Meyer, a fellow NSWC PHD Distinguished Alumni.
Rear Adm. Meyer awarded Vallas a Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award in recognition of Vallas’ Aegis efforts.
“Jim is recognized as a leader on our station for establishing and sustaining our core fundamentals. That is really key here,” Horton added.
Vallas found a forte in systems engineering, and thrived when working with technical problems, Horton said.
“He professed that whatever we do, we have got to be paying attention to the nuts and bolts, the details of our systems. Everything has to work together,” said Horton, speaking of Vallas’ ideology in various NSWC PHD roles including technical operations manager, director of engineering, and deputy technical director. “Our Navy depended on Jim’s rigorous methodology to save lives.”
Valued mentor
Vallas’ former team members then passed around a microphone, and shared their memories of working with the Distinguished Alumni honoree.
“He truly had his whole heart into the organization, and treated everybody with respect,” said Vallas’ former co-worker Esperanza Arroyo, a sentiment repeated by many at the ceremony.
Kristine Gillespie, another co-worker, first met Vallas in the office on a weekend in 1995. Strangers at the time, Vallas helped her through an issue, not knowing they would work together for the last two-thirds of Gillespie’s career.
“And what a godsend (working together) was,” Gillespie said. “You have instilled confidence in me personally, and every team I ever ran under you. You were a mentor during the good times, and you were a mentor during the sad, lay times. And I appreciate that very much.”
Vallas was a source of guidance for many. Arman Hovakemian, now NSWC PHD’s chief engineer, talked about receiving advice from Vallas while Hovakemian worked at NSWC Corona Division.
“All of us are aware of Mr. Vallas’ contributions and achievements here on station at Port Hueneme,” Hovakemian said. “But what you don’t know is that his reach really went beyond the boundaries of Port Hueneme and reached out to other folks like me who started my career at another Navy facility.”
Hovakemian explained that Vallas always made himself available to provide counsel, promptly answering the phone or email messages even while he moved up the ranks of NSWC PHD’s leadership and became increasingly busy.
James Watkins said that Vallas is responsible for his transfer to NSWC PHD over 20 years ago. Watkins’ memories of Vallas revolve around discussions of family and basketball, saying Vallas cared enough to remember these small details decades later.
“As I ran through your illustrious bio, two things were missing,” Watkins said. “One was the word humility — consummate professional but a very humble gentleman. Despite all the accolades and accomplishments, just always down to earth, very pleasant and a humble person in general. You are the people’s person.”
The second missing piece from Vallas’ biography, Watkins added, is a mention of Vallas completing the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Anderson School’s Executive Development Program. Vallas often shared messages from UCLA basketball coach John Wooden’s leadership philosophy.
While many knew Vallas as the command’s unofficial senior leader later in his career, Robert Bland served with Vallas beginning in both men’s first years at NSWC PHD.
Bland, the first Black student to graduate from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science, worked at the command from 1972 to 2004, where Vallas selected him to serve as Vallas’ deputy head of the Missile Systems Department. Bland, another esteemed alumni, has an internal award named in his honor.
“I certainly have a lot to thank him for in terms of my own career advancement and development, and just for the pleasure of being able to work in that kind of environment,” Bland said. “He created an environment where it was fun to come to work every day, and we always knew we could count on his leadership. I wanted to thank him on my personal behalf, and to thank him for all he’s done for this command and for the Navy.”
Vallas’ daughter Rebecca Horton said the whole-hearted dedication her father showed at work was even more prevalent at home.
“My sisters and I never really knew what my dad did at work…he didn’t bring work home growing up,” Rebecca Horton said. “When he was home, it was all about the family.”
His other daughters, Andrea McGinnis and Catherine Bain, also attended with five of Vallas’ grandchildren.
Memorialized in bronze
After hearing testimony of why Vallas deserved the recognition, Holmes and Koe unveiled Vallas’ Distinguished Alumni plaque, which includes a bronze cast of his likeliness.
Ojai, California, artist Colleen McDougal created Vallas’ plaque, and many of the other alumni plaques hanging in Building 445 where Vallas’ will join. Working only off archived photos, McDougal crafted the piece in a multistep process of clay modeling and metal casting.
Vallas, during his acceptance speech, expressed the selflessness peers and family described.
“It goes without saying that when you get an award like this, a recognition like this, that it’s really not about one person; it’s about all the people you’ve associated with over the years — hundreds of people who have been part of my station and part of my career,” Vallas said. “I get the credit and get to be recognized but the award is really for those folk as well — but since they’re not here, I’ll accept it.”
When asked to reflect on what he feels most proud of from his years at NSWC PHD after the ceremony, Vallas said it was the opportunity to work with the people at the command and their “high caliber of skill.”
“Working with such a dedicated team was very rewarding,” he added.
Read more about Vallas and his contributions to NSWC PHD and the Navy at the following link: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/449750/jim-vallas-honored-shaping-engineering-vision-future-leaders-naval-surface-warfare-center-port-hueneme-division
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2023 20:08 |
| Story ID: | 457187 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME , CA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Jim Vallas Inducted as Warfare Center’s 12th Distinguished Alumni, by Gabrielle DellaRipa, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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