THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9502280066
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 180 lines
AS A YOUNG MAN going off to join the Navy, riding a bus through Iowa, leaving home and family behind, Daniel J. Franken uttered a fervent prayer:
``Dear Lord, I hope the Navy lets me work on their airplanes.''
That was 30 years ago.
Evidently God was listening because the young enlistee, now Capt. Dan Franken, did get to work on those planes.
He has flown in them as bombardier/ navigator and, later, as pilot. He has had his ``ticket punched,'' as they say in the Navy, serving in department head, executive officer and commanding officer billets in aircraft squadrons. And he has been ``inside the Beltway,'' in the Pentagon, working on coordination of activities involving aircraft and strike weapons.
For the boy from Iowa who used to construct model airplanes of balsa wood and paper, and paint them dark blue, the love affair with the Navy and its aircraft has never ended. Now he is commanding officer of the Naval Air Station Norfolk, having relieved its former skipper, Capt. Lee Duckworth, last October.
``My goals when I enlisted were to learn a skill, have an adventure, travel and forestall college until I had a better idea of what I wanted to do,'' Franken recalls. ``I really wanted to be a chief petty officer like my dad.
``I always had new, longer-range goals to shoot for. And one thing leads to another.''
In his current assignment, Franken is in charge of the busiest military passenger terminal in the United States. In the recently ended fiscal year, approximately 102,000 flights began or ended there. That's a thousand more than Norfolk International Airport sees in a year.
The air station's 1,269 acres and 329 buildings are assets with a value of $1.5 billion. The air station is home to 19 aircraft squadrons and 90 tenant commands, ranging in size from four to almost 3,500 personnel. Services also are provided for 32 non-resident commands. The total population runs in excess of 16,000; according to the Navy, all of the air station's activities pump about a billion dollars a year into the local economy.
The air station's recycling program alone saves $105,000 annually, by reclaiming more than 2.8 million pounds of recyclables, the Navy says.
Much of what the air station launches, billets, fixes, overhauls and delivers ends up scattered throughout its No. 1 customer: the fleet. All of what the air station produces is for use during those hours of sheer boredom as well as those moments of stark terror that occur during combat. Franken never forgets that and exhorts his personnel never to forget it, either.
``The combat link,'' he calls it.
The captain's job is much like being mayor of a city. And airport manager. Landlord. Teacher. Planner. Pilot. Diplomat. Host. Leader.
The NATO presence gives the air station an international flavor, as do the far-flung locations represented by the planes, personnel and material that pass through the air station. It's a major hub. One week not long ago, its visitors included the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chief of Naval Operations.
``We don't lack for anything to do,'' Franken explains. ``Instead, we have to choose and assign priorities. During the 50 years of the Cold War, we spent money on planes and ships but neglected our shore infrastructure. It was used pretty hard with not much put back into it. We need to work to provide a nice environment for our people, on or off duty.''
Franken is a family man, and when he talks of quality of life for the Navy's people he knows of what he speaks. His marriage in 1968 to the former Donna Lenore Holcomb of Newport, N.C., was twice delayed by the ``needs of the service.'' They have two sons, ages 21 and 10, and a daughter, 18, who figure frequently in his conversations.
A true believer in TQL - Total Quality Leadership - he notes, ``It is breaking down barriers, re-engineering the way we do business. We're forming QMB's - Quality Management Boards - that will replace the traditional department head method of management. It's a win/win situation for the taxpayers and the sailors, in that it permits us to deliver a better product.''
Like Adm. Jeremy Mike Boorda, the current Chief of Naval Operations, Franken started out as an enlisted man when he joined the Navy in 1964. Advancing through the enlisted ranks, he made petty officer first class in 1969. Selected for the Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program, Franken earned his commission as an ensign and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Colorado in 1972.
He completed Naval Flight Officer Training School in Glynco, Ga., in July 1973. Then it was off to VA-34, an attack squadron flying A-6 Intruder aircraft, and a Mediterranean deployment aboard the USS John F. Kennedy.
If there is a focal point to Franken's love of Naval aircraft, the A-6 is it. A carrier-based bomber introduced into the fleet in 1963, just before his first enlistment, the A-6 is not, even its staunchest defenders usually admit, a pretty airplane.
Nor is the A-6 the fastest or the biggest. But over the years, the A-6 has proven to be one of the best, a durable and dependable workhorse. Franken isn't the only Naval aviator to love the plane passionately. But the careers of the A-6 and Franken have paralleled each other to a remarkable degree.
As an enlisted man, Franken worked on them. As a Naval flight officer, he rode in them as bombardier/navigator. What he really wanted to do was fly them. But that seemed to be beyond his grasp. According to the regulations, he was too old.
He had wanted to fly A-6's when he first became an ensign, at age 28. But the age limit was 27 1/2. So he opted for NFO Training School. A few years later, with large numbers of its pilots exiting the service to go to work for the airlines, the Navy had a pressing need for senior pilots and the NFO to Pilot Program was born. The age limit was 31. At that time, Franken was 35. He applied for, and was granted, a waiver.
That was the key that unlocked the door to flight training. By the time he completed the grueling, 18-month course he was 37.
``You can say that I was one of the oldest Naval officers to complete the flight training syllabus,'' he responds when specifically asked about it.
Another surprise was in store for those who didn't know him. One might suspect that a 37-year-old, newly minted pilot would opt for a less stressful assignment, such as flying multiengine patrol planes from shore stations perhaps. But not then-Lt. Cmdr. Franken.
``I wanted to go right back where I came from - A-6's,'' he said.
He did, even though it meant he had to ``enter the arena'' as a new pilot in a department head's tour. Pressure, lots of it, came from a lot of different directions.
``You never know - will you be a good pilot,'' he recalls, ``or will you wash out?''
He didn't wash out. His service as a pilot was so successful, which he credits to his familiarity with the A-6 community, that when screened for command, he was the only pilot picked up for early selection.
``I entered the Navy with the dream of just being near airplanes, so when I eventually had the opportunity to fly the A-6 Intruder, a jet I'd worked on, it was the fulfillment of a goal well beyond anything I had ever envisioned.''
His department head tour was with VA-65 and included two extended deployments aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. He served as executive officer of VA-42 and VA-36, going to sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. He commanded VA-42, the A-6 Replacement Training Squadron based at NAS Oceana. Before taking command of NAS Norfolk, he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, as Officer for Strike Warfare.
In 1991, Franken earned a master's degree from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He also has a master's in International Relations from Salve Regina College.
Like most officers who came up through the ranks, Franken values his prior enlisted experience. During his career and, particularly, recent command tours, he has found that to be a great benefit in leading people. He is gratified that the Navy has recognized it and given him a chance to command the air station. And he has a message to the men and women who serve under him:
``I'll be your biggest supporter if you want to develop and advance and be all you can be in the Navy. The same Navy that gave me a lot of those opportunities exists today. I'll be your No. 1 supporter. If you want to go for it, look me up.''
It's not all combat readiness, however. The air station participates in an award-winning Adopt-A-School program with Willoughby Elementary, the city's Adopt-A-Street Program, Clean The Bay Day, Little League, as well as the annual air show that is a traditional part of the Azalea Festival, drawing some 200,000 spectators. Franken views these activities as essential in terms of quality of life, too.
He also sits on the Armed Forces Committee of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce.
As Franken sees it, these are exciting times for the Naval service and its people. He looks forward to the task of guiding his new command in meeting those challenges.
``I have a deep sense of mission that motivates me to seek continuous improvement in all that I and the men and women at NAS Norfolk do. I wish to lead our people to achieve a better base, higher quality of work, and the best quality of life they can realize.
``When we thus improve, we serve the deploying forces and ourselves better. That's our duty.'' ILLUSTRATION: Cover and inside photos by staff photographer JIM WALKER
Capt. Dan Franken is the commanding officer of the Naval Air Station
Norfolk, having relieved its former skipper, Capt. Lee Duckworth,
last October.
Capt. Franken talks shop with Navy personnel Kevin Peters, left, and
Ricki Furlong.
Franken with his family: 21-year-old son Phillip is at left, his
wife, Donna, at right, and 18-year-old daughter, Johanna, in front
along with Daniel, 10, and the family's dog, Holly.
by CNB