Jonathan Williams:
CLASS OF 1981
Hingham High SchoolClass of 1981
Hingham, MA
Worcester Polytechnic InstituteClass of 1985
Worcester, MA
South Junior High SchoolClass of 1978
Hingham, MA
Plymouth River Elementary SchoolClass of 1975
Hingham, MA
West Elementary SchoolClass of 1969
Andover, MA
Jonathan's Story
Life
Teenagers. I doubt there is anything more challenging in life. Sigh, nostalgic for the days of the "Terrible Two's" :o)
College
How interesting a bio can you write about your four years at an engineering college? The male to female ratio was about 8 to 1 which is good if you are an engineering female at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. I had a fairly uneventful four years there. Went to a few frat parties during the Rush, but that got old. I rode a motorcycle for transportation for the first two years, fall, winter, and spring. The motorcycle was good therapy from studies as I explored the many back roads out in the central and western part of the state. Winter time meant roads were not very good for motorcycles, but then again, it was ski season. I think one of the main reasons I worked part time on summer vacations was to save money for my ski habit. Wachusett Mountain was a short drive north of Worcester and made a good place to get a ski fix in on a quiet evening when studies were light. My parents gave me their old '75 VW Rabbit prior to my junior year so that opened up ski seasons tremendously. Wednesdays were usually light on classes so we could skip out from time to time and get in some mid-week ski time with short lift lines and cheaper tickets. I had a four year Army ROTC scholarship that for the most part paid for my education there. With parental help for my part of the house rental and food, I had enough money of my own to support my motorcycle and ski habits. I roomed in a little four bedroom bungalow with three other guys, Brian Huntley, Ted Fazioli, and a third roomie, Steve Opolski for the sophomore year then Shigeharu Furukawa for the last two years of school. All in all, I had decent time in school. Made some really good friends, Chuck Tapalian, Paul Maier, and Don Mikan. Good friends in the ROTC brigade as well. I would be remiss if I didn't mention M.E. as a very special person in my life.
Military
I went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on a ROTC scholarship and was commissioned as a signal corps officer in 1985. My first assignment was Signal Officer Basic Course at Ft. Gordon, GA from June of 1985 through October of 1985. From there I traveled to Lackland Air Force Base for a three week course on TEMPEST training on the way to my assignment with the 902d Military Intelligence Group at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA. I spent 3 1/2 years there but spent a lot of time TDY all over the western US and the Washington DC area. I spent about six months of that time at Vint Hill Farms Station, VA between Manassass and Warrenton, VA. I also spent a fair amount of time at Ft. Huachuca, AZ for both training as well as temporary duty. I lived in Novato, CA during those years and loved living in California. In July of 1989, I was assigned back to ...Expand for more
Ft Gordon, GA for the Signal Officer Advanced Course (SOAC) for six months. After SOAC I received orders for a one year assignment in Korea. I arrived in Korea in February of 1990, and shortly thereafter Amanda joined me over there. We lived in a Korean apartment near Yongsan in Seoul and I was assigned as the S-4 for the 304th Signal Battalion at Camp Colbern about 20 miles to the south and east of Seoul. Melissa, our first child, was born at the Seoul 121 Evac Hospital on Yongsan in August of 1990. With Desert Storm raging, my one year tour in Korea turned out to be 17 months. I applied for and was accepted to be an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point so in July of 1991, we moved from Seoul, Korea to Worcester, MA. I spent the next two years as a college student on active duty getting my Masters degree in electrical engineering at WPI. In March of 1992, Jimmy was born at at Worcester Memorial Hospital. In June of 1993 we moved again to New York to begin my assignment as an instructor of electrical engineering at West Point. That was a great three years. Teaching electrical engineering and some computer science was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Michelle was born at West Point in 1994 and Rachel two years later in 1996. In July of 1996 after my assignment was complete at West Point, I opted to be released from active duty under the drawdown of forces. I accepted the Voluntary Separation Initiative and left the Army. I remained in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) but never participated in any Army activities. I started work with Northrop-Grumman in September of 1996. There I help design, build, and test a 65 foot mini-submarine for the Navy SEALs called ASDS. In January on 2003, I received orders recalling me to active duty for one year in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. I mobilized on March 1st and proceeded to Ft Gordon, GA for refresher training. In early April 2003, I was deployed to Afghanistan where I served with the Coalition Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (CJCMOTF) as the CJ-6 communications officer. Initially I spent the first three months, April - June 2003 in the capital city of Kabul. Then in June the CJCMOTF headquarters was moved to Bagram Air Base about 30 miles to the north of Kabul. I was wheels up out of Afghanistan on January 14th of 2004 and then begin the process of de-mobilizing and being released from active duty. Other than a couple of rocket attacks in the middle of the night, it wasn't too bad over there considering that was a combat zone. After de-mobilizing back at Ft. Benning, GA, I hung up my DCU's and got back into my civilian life. I'm back out at the SEAL Delivery Team One facility in Hawaii in my civilian occupation assisting with a planned maintenance period on the ASDS for a ten week period.
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