As Boothbay Harbor prepares to celebrate the 64th annual Windjammer Days, this year’s theme proudly honors the past, present, and retired members of the United States Navy who have served our nation with dedication and distinction. 

By John A. Walsh

I've always been drawn to flying and the water — the Navy was a natural fit. I graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering, earned my wings as a naval aviator, and eventually made it to the United States Naval Test Pilot School, which remains one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. I also managed to squeeze in a master's in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins somewhere along the way. 

I finished my Navy career as the Commanding Officer of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 at NAS Patuxent River — the command responsible for testing the Navy's newest aircraft before they ever reach the fleet. Our job was to put some of the Navy's most important programs through their paces: the P-8A Poseidon, the MQ-4C Triton drone, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and others. Simply put, if a new Navy aircraft or system needed to prove it was ready to fly and fight, this team was the one making that call.

Over more than two decades, I was fortunate to take on some genuinely challenging assignments — deploying to PACOM and CENTCOM Areas of Operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, managing complex weapons and sensor programs, working with the National Reconnaissance Office and DARPA, and serving as Aide to a three-star admiral at Naval Air Systems Command.

After retiring from the Navy, I joined Anduril Industries as senior director of Strategic Growth, where I get to keep working on the national security mission — just from a different angle.

My wife Cecily is an active duty Navy Captain and Naval Flight Officer with over two decades of service — and a competitive sailor in her own right. Our son Sawyer is eight and already a serious competitor on the water, racing Optimist sailboats. Our daughter Daphne is a junior at St. George's School in Newport, where she sails at the national level. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time on the water.