A M E R I C A ’ S
TOP Black GENERALS
and ADMIRALS & Senior
Executives - Defense
by Lango Deen
Rochon, now 58, served for 36 years with the United
States Coast Guard. At the helm of his last USCG assignment,
as commander of the Maintenance and Logistics Command
Atlantic, his responsibilities included naval and civil engineer-
ing, fi nancial management, legal, civil rights, electronic systems
support, and contingency planning across 40 states, Puerto
Rico, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He has decades of
experience in strategic planning, interagency coordination and
personnel management.
He is also committed to historical preservation, which
makes this job a perfect fi t. The New Orleans native’s interests,
beside cooking classic Creole dishes, writing and public speak-
ing, are restoring turn-of the-century homes in his home town
after the 2005 hurricanes, and co-producing a documentary that
honored a heroic 19th-century all-black life-saving station on
the North Carolina coast.
Rochon, who enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970, and
commissioned as an ensign fi ve years later, is a highly decorated
military offi cer. He earned the Coast Guard Distinguished
Service Medal and three Legion of Merit medals. He received a
On January 20, 2009, when President Barack Obama
BS in business administration from Xavier University of Loui-
siana and a MS in national resource strategy from the National
and his family arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue they will be
Defense University.
greeted at their new home by a former leader in the martial co-
hort: retired US Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon
(pictured above). He is the director of the executive residence
and chief usher of the White House.
Admiral Rochon manages the day-to-day operation of the
historic 132-room mansion, its $13-million plus budget, and a
Black officers in the armed forces make up less than
staff of more than ninety. It is a position unconnected to poli-
6 percent at the highest levels, but there are more Afri-
tics, where one is dedicated to providing care and comfort
to the fi rst family.
can Americans in the military’s top ranks compared to
Rochon is responsible for overseeing activities that take the percentage of black executives on the highest rungs
place within the executive residence and on the grounds of the
of corporate America. According to Pentagon data re-
White House. He develops and administers the building’s opera-
tion, maintenance, and utilities, and executes the ceremonial leased in May 2008 to mark the 60th anniversary of the
and offi cial events of the President and First Lady.
integration of the military, 5.6 percent of the 923 general
In his remarks on the appointment of Rochon in 2007,
President George W. Bush called the former admiral a gifted
officers w ere African American. Eight w ere three-star
leader, an experienced manager, and a great addition to the
lieutenant generals or vice admirals, 17 w ere two-star
White House and the executive residence staff. His predecessor,
Gary Walters, held the position for 20 years. The chief usher
major generals or rear admirals, 26 w ere one-star briga-
position was created in 1866 and Rochon is the eighth person
dier generals or rear admirals, and three of the one-stars
to hold the position and the fi rst African American.
w ere women.
http://www.blackengineer.com
USBE & Information Technology I WINTER 2008 37
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