Photo By Anna Taylor | Outgoing Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport Senior Enlisted Leader Master...... read more read more
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Master Chief Jericho Diego, master diver at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport, leaves behind a lasting legacy as he prepares to retire in August. Diego also served as the command’s senior enlisted leader from November 2021 to May 2025. He is succeeded by Senior Chief Brad Stiner.
Diego, a Hana, Maui native, enlisted in the Navy in 2000, shortly after graduating from boarding school in Lahaina, Hawaii. Long drawn to both mechanics and the ocean, he sought a career that allowed him to pursue both passions.
Following his enlistment, he trained and served as an engineman for four years, then discovered the world of Navy diving.
"I grew up fishing, hunting, diving and especially spear diving in my free time," said Diego. "So when I learned about the Navy diving program, it was something I wanted to try out. That's kind of what led me into becoming a Navy diver."
Diego completed his initial diving qualifications and went on to prove himself as a driven, capable diver. Over the next 25 years, he gained valuable experience in underwater mechanics, salvage operations and advanced diving techniques through a series of challenging assignments in increasingly demanding environments around the world.
At Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, he served as a work center supervisor and surface ship production officer, learning about underwater mechanics and ship repair. He later worked for Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, where he led complex salvage operations and prisoner of war/missing in action recovery missions that honored the sacrifices of fallen service members and brought closure to their families.
Recalling a mission to recover remains from a downed World War II B-24 bomber in the Micronesian island nation of Palau, Diego said, "I was fortunate to be a part of recovering the last soul in that aircraft. The family actually reached out to many of us on the dive team, and it was a pretty special moment to share with them and see how happy they were that we were able to recover their grandpa and bring him home."
Diego also served with the Specialized Research Diving detachment at Commander, Submarine Development Squadron 5, where he qualified as a saturation diver, led the certification of the Saturation Flyaway Diving System and led a dive team that completed the first 15-day, 1,000 Feet of Sea Water open-ocean saturation dive in 37 years.
Following his time at CSDS-5, Diego completed a 12-month unaccompanied tour on Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, aboard the USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), where he conducted underwater maintenance and force protection dives on forward-deployed submarines operating in the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility.
Following his time at CSDS-5, Diego completed a 12-month unaccompanied tour on Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, aboard the USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), where he conducted underwater maintenance and force protection dives on forward-deployed submarines operating in the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility.
Before coming to NUWC Division, Keyport, Diego also served as leading chief petty officer and repair master diver for the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center and as repair master diver and senior enlisted leader at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Everett Detachment.
During his time at NUWC Division, Keyport, Diego oversaw more than 750 complex diving operations and led the command’s dive locker, which delivers essential underwater support for naval operations in demanding and often unseen environments. According to then-Commanding Officer Capt. Clint Hoskins, his leadership left a lasting mark on the unit.
“The dive locker's work is hard, dangerous work,” said Hoskins. “It’s out of sight, out of mind, literally underwater. But in order to have a team that’s successful, you need a leader at the helm, and that is Master Chief Diego. He's just a good person, with good leadership, excellent technical capability, and somebody who is humble. Keyport is in a much better position with him leaving than they were when he got here, and that's due to his hard work and dedication.”
One especially notable contribution of Diego’s was his involvement with the Deep Sea Expeditionary No Decompression diving suit currently being developed by the Navy, which allows divers to operate at significant depths without the need for decompression.
"He's been at the forefront of driving that forward," said Hoskins. "I'm not sure Keyport would have been involved with this had it not been for his drive."
Diego was recently awarded the Legion of Merit in recognition of his exceptionally meritorious service during his tenure at NUWC Division, Keyport.
“His expert leadership, managerial skills, and unwavering commitment to the NUWC [Division,] Keyport's mission objectives were critical to the command's success,” stated the award citation.
Diego has received numerous other awards and commendations throughout his career, including the Meritorious Service Medal, six Navy Commendation Medals, seven Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
Diego considers his time at NUWC Division, Keyport an especially rewarding chapter of his career. "I loved it here," he said, "I was just happy to be part of the team and be part of pushing our mission forward."
-KPT-
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2025 15:25 |
| Story ID: | 542841 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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