Leadership Change at Warfare Center

Thirty-four years after enrolling in the U.S. Naval Academy, Capt. John S. Beachy hung up his uniform Friday before hundreds of sailors and officers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme.

Beachy, 51, who assumed command of the Port Hueneme center four years ago, is retiring from the military.

At a change-of-command ceremony at the base Friday afternoon, Beachy passed control of the warfare center to Capt. Nicholas L. Richards.

A native of Texas, Beachy graduated from the academy in 1966, when he was assigned as a missile officer. Later, he served in a river patrol unit in Vietnam.

Beachy assumed his first command in 1972 and was later dispatched to the Naval Postgraduate School, where he received a master’s degree in 1977. During four years of leadership in Port Hueneme, Beachy helped save the Navy $31 million in expenses without ordering layoffs, officials said.

“Beachy oversaw the right-sizing of his work force--eliminating nearly 700 civilian positions without resorting to involuntary separations,” said base spokeswoman Letitia Austin.

The 49-year-old Richards takes command of the Port Hueneme base after commanding the Port Royal, an award-winning cruiser that once recorded 16 hits for 16 missiles fired.