Port Hueneme : Base Commander Is Made Rear Admiral

Capt. David J. Nash, the commander of the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, has been promoted to rear admiral, naval officials confirmed Friday.

A 28-year Navy officer, Nash was nominated for the position by Defense Secretary Richard Cheney on Tuesday, the last full day of the Bush Administration, said a naval spokeswoman in Washington.

The admiral-select may have to wait as long as a year for his promotion to take effect, until a retirement makes one of the limited positions available, Nash said Friday.

“The promotion is a real honor and an opportunity to continue doing what I love best,” said Nash, who assumed command of the Port Hueneme Seabee base in August, 1991.

Nash, whose appointment as base commander was due to expire this summer, said there is a good chance that his orders will be extended until 1994. “But that depends on where the winds of war take me,” Nash added. Nash graduated from the Indiana Institute of Technology and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps in 1966. He has been in charge of construction for naval installations in Argentina, Newfoundland and Spain, and also served in the same capacity at Point Mugu in 1969.

Nash also served a tour in Vietnam, and has served in administrative positions in Europe and the United States.