Photo By Michael Smith | Chief Warrant Officer 5 Victor Jensen Jr., a Ridgecrest, California, native, wears his...... read more read more
Chief Warrant Officer 5 is sometimes called a “unicorn” rank in the Marine Corps, so rare that few ever meet one. This summer, Victor Jensen joined that select group, one of only two in his community across the service.
The road to this rare rank started with a setback. An injury in week seven at Officer Candidates School ended his path to a traditional commission.
Jensen chose another route and applied to become a warrant officer. While checking the Marine Corps website to see if selection results had been released, he discovered his own package was being used as the example for the Meritorious Commissioning Program. This was a good sign. When the results came out, he was selected.
Within a year, he found himself learning at full speed in Bahrain.
“I went from zero to a hundred really quick,” Jensen said. “I was the first reserve officer in distribution management. I went from being a supply staff NCO to the distribution officer for all the missions of MARCENT.”
That deployment to Bahrain was supposed to be routine. It was not.
Shipments for a Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived. However, the Marines scheduled to deploy for the ground and logistics elements did not arrive to take custody of their cargo. Containers stacked at the port while tasking shifted by the hour. Jensen only had a handful of enlisted Marines and a mission that kept expanding.
"It was a huge mess," he said. "We were busy with something completely different than we thought we were doing when we went. We were reinforcing embassies, preparing to evacuate Yemen, and sending in anti-terrorism teams."
Bahrain taught him another lesson.
During a commander's update brief, a general asked if a quadcon or a 20-foot shipping container, would fit on a C-130. Jensen answered with one word: yes. What he thought was a simple confirmation became operational guidance, repeated to the staff, and within hours Marines were preparing to act on it.
“I saw majors have to justify their answers, explain themselves, even get shut down,” Jensen said. “But when the general turned to me, the warrant officer, one word was enough. That’s when it hit me. With the red on your collar, you have to be careful with every word. If you say it, your Marines will follow it, and they will follow it a hundred percent. Even if you meant it casually, they are going to treat it like gospel.”
That moment shaped his advice to others.
“You cannot speculate,” Jensen said. “If you do not know, say you do not know. Because once you speak, people are going to move. Your credibility is your authority.”
That credibility has built lasting professional relationships. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mike Dusanic, who serves in the Marine Corps Reserve, calls Jensen whenever he faces unprecedented challenges.
“Victor for years has been my first phone call whenever I'm doing something no one has tried before,” Dusanic said. “I'm grateful he continues to answer his phone whenever I call.”
At Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Jensen leads the program security test support branch. Teams face tight milestones and moving parts across ordnance projects and program analysis. His approach produces steady plans, clear communication and calm leadership when pressure climbs.
For Jensen, leadership is earned shoulder to shoulder.
“Do not ask anybody to do anything that I have not done or am not going to do with them,” he said.
“Victor truly embodies ‘lead by example,’” said Brandon Ussery, who works in NAWCWD's Ordnance Processing and began his civil service career under Jensen. “He would not ask anyone to do something he would not do himself, and more often than not, he was right there beside us. He consistently took accountability, shouldered the blame when things went wrong and always stood up for his people.”
Jensen calls it getting to the point of friction.
“If something I am working on is not going right, I better get down to where the friction is,” he said. “When things are not going well, I get myself really involved in that spot to figure it out, to see if we can pull it out and save it. It has worked out well.”
That approach has delivered measurable results.
Dave Arts, Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile Test Program Office lead ordnance technician at NAWCWD, has experienced Jensen's leadership on high-pressure projects.
"We had deadlines that seemed impossible to meet, but with his logistics background and leadership, we made them weeks ahead of schedule," Arts said.
Behind both careers is a family that anchored him. Jensen and his wife, Julie, raised four children in Ridgecrest while he split time between NAWCWD and the reserve force, navigating deployments, training cycles and the demands of dual careers.
“Every Marine knows you do not do it alone,” Jensen said. “I have been lucky to have the support I do at home and at work. That is how you get through deployments, long nights or tough missions.”
| Date Taken: | 09.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2025 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 547273 |
| Location: | CHINA LAKE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | RIDGECREST, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 201 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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