Michael Loessel:  

Life Hey gang it's Michael Loessel...I graduated from Sts. Pete's Area High School in 1971. My professional career began in March 1972 when I enlisted in the Navy and headed for Basic Training at Great Lakes, Illinois. After completing 10 weeks of "Boot Camp" I was off to Radioman A School and 12 weeks of school in Bainbridge, Maryland. After successfully completing the school I received orders to Washington, D.C. area and was assigned to the communication center handling message traffic for Naval Investigative Service located in Alexandria, Va. My career in the Navy was in two parts: the first 13 years was in telecommunications as a Radioman and the reamining 7 was as a Navy Counselor. In 1972 I arrived in Washington, D.C. for my first of two assignments on the east coast. The D.C. area was very exciting and I lived on Bolling Air Force Base a short drive from downtown D.C. Eventually I moved to Annandale, Va. when I got married two years later in 1974. The highlight of my first 13 years was doing a three year tour as a Navy Recruiter in Michigan. I was assigned to the Detroit Metro area working in the suburb of Sterling Heights. This would be my first short duty tour and for three years I represented the Navy in the upper class area surrounding Sterling Heights. As an added plus I was an hour an a half drive from Saginaw. And depending on my work schedule and the weather, I made frequent trips to Saginaw to visit my parents or reconnect with old friends. As a recruiter I had to cope with recruiting in an upper class area where folks were not standing in line to sign on the dotted line. This was the early 80s and going to college was more of a priority then serving ones country. We had to make 100s of cold calls, visit high schools (I was assigned 3) and be very proactive in marketing the Navy. In spite of the challenges I managed to have a successful tour but it came with a price as my six year marriage ended in divorce and the stress of the job led to a serious drinking problem. Thankfully I recovered from both. On a more positive note I was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for excellence in recruiting and in my second year of recruiting I was advanced to Petty Officer First Class. When my recruiting tour ended I accepted orders to back to San Diego assigned to a Guided Missle Cruiser. From 1983-86 I worked as a Leading Radioman but decided to change my specialty to Navy Counselor. A combination of professional setbacks and timely supplemental opportunities eventually led to my conversion to Navy Counselor in 1986. As a Navy...Expand for more