Photo By Cmdr. Jeffrey Gray | 250919-N-SI684-4007 – CHICAGO (Sept. 19, 2025) – In response to a question in a...... read more read more
CHICAGO (Sep. 19, 2025) – Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Adm. William J. Houston, walked through the doors of the Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy on Sep. 19, with the gravity of his office but spoke with the candor of a teacher. His visit was more than a ceremonial occasion; it was a living lesson in leadership, resilience, and service. For the cadets seated in uniform, for the faculty and staff at Rickover Naval Academy, for the Northwestern University Navy ROTC midshipmen who joined them, and for the civic leaders assembled in support, the morning became a dialogue across generations about the meaning of duty and the enduring influence of the legendary Adm. Hyman G. Rickover.
The program opened in solemn tradition. A formation of cadet side-boys piped Houston aboard, as the Navy Band Great Lakes played ruffles and flourishes, a naval custom that underscored respect for service and sacrifice. After the colors were presented, the gymnasium filled with the hush of attention as Houston began. He anchored his remarks in Chicago itself, reminding students that the first controlled nuclear reaction took place on Dec. 2, 1942, only 14 miles from their campus underneath a football stadium at the University of Chicago. Enrico Fermi and his team achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction beneath the university’s Stagg Field, proving atomic energy could be harnessed for power.
From that invocation of history, Houston turned to personal candor. He told the story of Jean Harper, the lunch monitor at his high school, who caught him one hot afternoon skipping out on lunch and pressed him to complete a Navy ROTC scholarship application. That scholarship changed his life, though he admitted he never intended to stay in the Navy for more than four years. Decades later, he is a four-star admiral, entrusted with the reactors that power the fleet. “I never thought I would be in the military,” he confessed. “But mentors believed in me, and they guided me onto a path I could not see at the time.”
The admiral’s humility resonated deeply with his audience. “What stood out from the Admiral’s visit wasn’t his rank or résumé, but his humility,” said retired Cmdr. Rose O’Carroll, the academy’s commandant. “He shared stories of his own struggles in school, the mentors who shaped him, and the chance encounters that changed his path. That honesty resonated with our cadets—they saw themselves in his story.”
The most intimate moments of the visit unfolded not in the gymnasium but in the classrooms, particularly during Houston’s time with the freshman class. He began with light questions that revealed the humanity behind the uniform: Who had the longest commute to school? Who rooted for the Cubs, who for the White Sox? The answers brought laughter, but also a recognition that these teenagers carried both the pride and the pressures of beginning high school in a demanding environment.
When asked what the hardest part of their first weeks had been, one freshman admitted simply, “this test.” Houston smiled, recalling that tests had been his own stumbling block at Notre Dame, where he struggled in freshman physics before going on to lead the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. He urged the cadets to see discipline and struggle not as obstacles but as training grounds for resilience. “If things are all easy, they’re probably not worth it,” he told them.
The freshmen also asked what it felt like to see students in uniform. Houston paused, “it makes me feel old,” he joked, “but it also makes me feel good—because I see young people who are willing to work hard, have discipline, and commit themselves. Whether you decide to join the Navy or not, there are many ways to serve—raising a family, building a community, or pursuing a profession with integrity.”
That exchange carried the essence of his message: service is not confined to military life, but woven into the habits of responsibility, honesty, and commitment.
Houston’s itinerary included visits to physics and chemistry classrooms, where he connected with students over gears, pulleys, and the periodic table. He admitted freely that physics had been one of his greatest challenges, yet it became the foundation of his life’s work. “I may have struggled in physics,” he said, “but now I oversee more reactors than anyone else in the world.”
In a chemistry classroom, he explained how uranium cores, small enough to fit into the space of three refrigerators, can power submarines and aircraft carriers for decades without refueling. He drew the students into the paradox that difficulty and mastery often spring from the same source. “You may not recognize it now,” he said, “but what you are learning here may carry you through decades of service.”
In the mid-morning leadership briefing, cadet battalion leaders offered Houston and civic leaders a confident overview of their programs, ranging from summer leadership academies to community service initiatives. Seated among them were Kevin Barszcz, Director of Veterans Affairs for the City of Chicago, and Jeffrey Sacks, president of the 795 Club, which stands behind the crew and families of the nuclear-powered USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795). Their participation underscored not only the city’s enduring support for the Academy but also the broader continuum of civic and naval engagement—a living bridge that links Rickover cadets to Chicago’s civic institutions and, ultimately, across the senior ranks of the U.S. Navy.
“This visit underscored why Rickover Naval Academy is more than a school,” Principal Michael Biela reflected. “It is a place where history, service, and civic responsibility meet the energy and promise of youth. Admiral Houston left our cadets with a charge: to do their best, to live with courage, and to carry themselves as leaders in whatever path they choose.”
Throughout the morning, Houston returned to one central theme—moral courage. He recounted how Rickover once asked a young midshipman named Jimmy Carter whether he had done his best. When Carter admitted he had not, Rickover ended the interview with two words—“Why not?” That question, Houston said, followed Carter into the presidency, shaping his understanding of responsibility. “Rickover did not expect perfection,” Houston told the cadets. “He expected honesty, responsibility, and a daily habit of excellence. He expected each of us to do our best.”
The power of that legacy was not abstract. Rickover himself, born in Russian Poland in 1899 to a poor Jewish family, arrived in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood as a young immigrant. He attended local public schools and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1919. Though his family could not afford college, he earned a Congressional appointment to the Naval Academy from Chicago Congressman Adolph Sabath. From those beginnings, he served an extraordinary 63-years on active duty, becoming the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” He personally oversaw the design and construction of USS Nautilus (SSN 571), the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, launched in 1954. Its successful voyage under the polar ice cap just four years later marked a revolution in naval warfare and global strategy.
Rickover’s story, as Houston reminded his audience, was not only one of technology but of character. His rigorous standards reshaped officer education, personnel selection, safety, and training across the entire Navy. He insisted that intellectual achievement must be joined with moral courage—the willingness to take responsibility, even when uncomfortable. As he told Congress in 1961, “Responsibility is a unique concept. You may delegate it, but you cannot escape it.”
His remarks in the gymnasium ended with a gesture rich in symbolism. Houston presented the academy with Rickover’s Congressional Gold Medal, on loan for display. Only two individuals in the last century have been awarded the honor twice, and Rickover was one of them. “It is fitting that one of those medals resides here,” Houston said, “where young men and women learn daily what it means to lead with courage and integrity.”
For Rickover cadets, the day will linger in memory. They witnessed an admiral not merely recounting naval history but embodying it—honest about failure, insistent on excellence, and committed to the principle that leadership is service. “Admiral Houston’s visit reminded us that our work here is about more than grades or uniforms,” Biela said. “It is about preparing young men and women to lead—in their chosen career or profession, in their communities, and in life.”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 09:34 |
| Story ID: | 549394 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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