Michael Kelso
U.S. Navy, 1975 – 1981, U.S. Coast Guard, 1982 – 1996
Michael Kelso is a retired U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard chief petty officer whose 20-year military career centered on maritime operations, technical expertise, and training. Born in Philadelphia in 1957 and raised in Maryland and Florida, Kelso graduated from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando in 1975 and entered the Navy. He trained at Great Lakes as a fire control technician, specializing in analog fire-control systems, and served aboard the destroyer tender USS Yosemite during Mediterranean and Caribbean deployments. After six years in the Navy, Kelso joined the Coast Guard, beginning a 14-year career that included service aboard high-endurance cutters such as Jarvis and Munro. His assignments involved Alaskan patrols, fisheries enforcement, drug interdiction, search and rescue, shipboard maintenance, and extended deployments that frequently kept him away from his family. He later served as an instructor and participated in port-security training. Kelso advanced to chief petty officer and retired on October 1, 1996. He remains deeply connected to the traditions, humor, craftsmanship, and enlisted culture of the sea services.
Full Interview
Interview Summary
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Introduction (00:53 – 01:46)
Early life and moving between Philadelphia, Maryland, and Florida (01:46 – 03:05)
Joining the Navy (1975) and Orlando boot camp stories (03:05 – 10:22)
Fire control systems and analog computers (10:22 – 11:55)
USS Yosemite in Mayport: destroyer tender life and shipboard safety (11:55 – 13:27)
USS Yosemite in Mayport, Travel, and life “underway” (13:27 – 24:56)
Leaving the Navy and the decision to join the Coast Guard (24:56 – 29:01)
Joining the Coast Guard: recruiters, cutters, and expectations vs reality (29:01 – 32:10)
Arriving in Hawaii: sponsorship, housing, and getting underway in Alaska (32:10 – 42:18)
Initiations at sea: Shellback and Golden Dragon (42:18 – 50:05)
Navy and Coast Guard: similarities, differences, and living the tradition (50:05 – 55:06)
Later assignments: shipboard career, instructor tour, and port security training (55:06 – 1:05:59)
Transition to civilian life (1:05:59 – 1:12:29)
Advice to young people: getting out of your comfort zone and “seeing the world” (1:12:29 – 1:17:32)
