M aster Chief Port was born in West Chester, Penn. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1986 and completed Basic Training in Orlando, Fla. He spent 18 months as a non-rated Seaman prior to reporting to the Defense Language Institute (DLI), Monterey, Calif. for Russian language training, and was selected to remain for six months of extended intermediate Russian language training. He completed technical training at Naval Aircrew Candidate School and Morse code training prior to reporting to Naval Security Group Detachment, Brunswick, Maine. He accumulated more than 1,000 flight hours, 600 of which were combat flight hours in support of Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Provide Hope, and Continue Hope. He was awarded an Individual Action Air Medal for a mission flown over Mogadishu, Somalia. In 1994 he returned to DLI for the Advanced Russian Interpreter course prior to duty with the On-Site Inspection Agency, now the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, in Washington, DC. He logged an additional 1,500 flight hours onboard the OC-135B Open Skies aircraft, the Navy Research Lab P-3C, ES-3 as well as 110 flight hours flown onboard a Russian IL-38 ASW aircraft, the first US-Navy Air Crewman to do so.
Selected for Chief Petty Officer in 1997, he served at Navy Recruiting Command Headquarters. He was selected to Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2000 and attended the Senior Enlisted Academy before reporting to the Naval Security Group Activity Kunia, Hawaii as Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA) and Leading Chief Petty Officer. He was selected to Master Chief in 2003, and joined the Navy’s Command Master Chief ranks in 2004. As a CMC he served with Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 (HM-15) in Corpus Christi, Texas, and led the squadron through multiple Middle East deployments as well as four major natural disaster recovery operations. Master Chief Port reported to PCU George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as the CMC, commissioning the ship January 10, 2009 and becoming a Plank Owner. He served as the SEA to the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) Chief Operating Officer, and CMC to NETC’s Learning & Development Division (N7) in Norfolk, Va., and in May 2010 reported as Force Master Chief, Navy Personnel Command/Bureau of Naval Personnel, Millington, Tenn.
Master Chief Port holds a Masters in Business Administration, a B.S. in Political Science, is a designated Master Linguist, attended the Navy Senior Leader Seminar and is a KEYSTONE graduate. His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards), Air Medal (Individual Action), Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal (4 awards).
Master Chief Port reported for his current assignment as the Naval Education and Training Command Force Master Chief in Feb 2013.