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 Charleroi native ready for return to Pentagon in U.S. Navy career... By Ron Paglia, For The Tribune-Review, June 26, 2005 Depending on his taste in music, Commander James A. Protin of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) may want to cue either Willie Nelson or Canned Heat as he prepares for another assignment at the Pentagon. Protin, a native of Charleroi who has 17 years of active duty in the Navy, will be on the road again tobegin duties July 18 as Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England's special assistant for legal and legislative matters. England has been nominated by President Bush to become Deputy Secretary of Defense and is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation to that position, but Protin's responsibilities are set no matter who occupies the top office. He's returning to Arlington, VA after serving two years as "detailer" for all Navy Lieutenant Commander Judge Advocate General's Corps officers at the Navy Personnel Command Headquarters in Millington, TN (near Memphis). Basically, Protin said, he served as personnel officer repsonsible for determining where the officers would be assigned. As for the new job at the Pentagon, Protin, a 1984 graduate of Charleroi Area High School and an attorney, said, "Essentially, I will be the only attorney on the immediate staff of the Secretary of the Navy. My primary duties will be to assist the Secretary and his staff on legal issues that occur on a daily basis. I will not typically be involved in policy development or the 'big picture' things, but rather will assist in the issues that arise in the day-to-day operations." One of Protin's major areas of work will be promotions of Naval personnel. "The promotion system for military officers is strictly controlled by federal law, and all documentaions pertaining to promotions are routed through the Secretary of the Navy," he explained. "I'll be working to ensure that all of those documents are accurate and meet applicable law and regulations." Protin, the son of Albert and Eileen Protin of Charleroi, previously served at the Pentagon as assistant special counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations. One day of that tour of duty will live with him forever September 11, 2001. "I was in my office in the Pentagon that morning," he said of the fateful day when a plane commandeered by terrorists crashed into the military site and destroyed areas known as Wedge 1 and Wedge 2. "I was in a section located one side over, about 800 feet, from the impact. The immediate effect was feeling powerless, unable to help those that needed it the most. The next effect was mostly positive in seeing the country so unified against a common enemy, as well as being so supportive of the military. Although I have been fortunate to be in the Navy during a time when the public has been generally supportive of the military, the attitude since 9/11 has become even more positive and supportive." Protin, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer sciences in 1988 upon being commissioned at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, chose the military as a career as the result of an invitation to summer camp and some unique advice from his mother. "I grew up knowing very little about military academies," he recalled. "That changed the summer before my senior year in high school. I was looking for things to do and had received invitations to camps from both West Point and the Naval Academy. They seemed to be interesting, so I asked my mother which she thought would be better and she responded, 'Go to the Navy one, they have nicer uniforms.' " Based on that maternal recommendation, Protin went to the Naval Academy camp and "fell in love with the campus and the school." "From then on, I was focused on learning as much as I could about the Naval Academy and ultimately on being accepted," he said. "The only other school I applied to was the University of Virginia." Protin said his education and experiences at Charleroi Area High School prepared him very well for life at the Naval Academy. "It laid an excellent foundation for me academically and personally," he said. "I was in classes (at the Academy) every day with students from all over the country and the world, many of whom came from large public schools, prestigious private schools, and prep schools, and I always found that my Charleroi School system education compared very favorably to that of the other students." One of the biggest adjustments Protin had to make at the Naval Academy was to learn to accept criticism and the "yelling" that are a tradition at military schools. "It actually become the most useful skill I've learned," he said. "During that first year at the Academy, we were yelled at and criticized a lot. For many of us who were relatively successful in high school, this was a new experience and was hard to not take personally. I eventually realized that it wasn't personal and that it was being done for a reason. This taught me to be able to be criticized and to use the criiticism as a way to improve myself a difficult task but one that continues to be a well-utilized lesson." Protin, who will celebrate his 39th birthday in July, would recommend that experience and others at the Academy to anyone. "The education I received was excellent and the experiences I gained outside the classroom were second to none," he said. "The summer after my first year, I spent thirty days on an aircraft carrier on an operation in the Indian Gulf, including a week-long port visit in the Philippine Islands. My second summer, I flew a helicopter, spent a week serving with U.S. Marines, spent a week on a nuclear powered submarine, and spent two weeks aboard a Navy ship. My third summer included a month-long stay on another submarine as it traveled from the Virgin Islands to its homeport in Groton, Conn. Each of these experiences, prior to my 21st birthday, was both enjoyable and educational." The Naval Academy experiences notwithstanding, Protin would recommend military life in general. "Whether you attend an academy or enlist, the military is full of amazing, wonderful opportunities and experiences," he said. "I know I sound like a recruiting poster, but I truly believe this." Following graduation from the Navy Academy, Protin spent five years involved with nuclear powered submarines, including the USS PERMIT (SSN 594) and the USS SALT LAKE CITY (SSN 716) in San Diego, CA and the PCU/USS NEBRASKA (SSBN 739) in Groton, CN. The former vessels are Fast Attack submarines, and the latter is a Fleet Ballistic Missile craft. From 1993-1996, Protin attended the University of Maryland School of Law under the Navy's Law Education Program, through which the Navy sends officers from different fields to law school in exchange for a commitment to serve at least six years as a Navy JAGC officer. "Although law had not been a life-long dream, it was a career that I had thought of frequently as a possibility," Protin said. Following graduation from law school, Protin served at the Naval Legal Service Office Southwest in San Diego as a legal assistance attorney, claims attorney and defense counsel. From 1998 to 2000, he was the Command Judge Advocate for the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) in San Diego. While he was assigned to the STENNIS, the popular JAG television show filmed on the ship for about a week. Does art imitate life? Does the show accurately depict the real thing? "Not at all," Protin laughed. "Although there are numerous JAGs serving around the world in direct support of the Global War on Terrorism, very few, if any, of them are actually directly involved in combat operations that are routinely seen on the tv show. Our involvement with warfighting is typically removed a little from the direct action in advising the warfighting commanders on legal issues surrounding fighting the war rather than the tactical decisions of how to win." Having said that, Protin admits the show is "very enjoyable" and that he has watched is frequently. Protin's assistant on board the STENNIS also found the tv experience to his liking. "He was assigned as their lead escort while they were filming on our ship," Protin recalled. "In this role he met one of the actresses who had a recurring role on the show. They remained in touch after the (tv) crew left the ship, and they are now married. He's still an officer in JAGC, and he's stationed in Washington, DC." Although he has not been stationed overseas during his 17 years of active duty with the Navy, Protin has been out of the United States several times including a six-month Persian Gulf deployment in 2000 that included stops in South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Dubai, Bahrain and Australia. Protin said his greatest satisfaction of being in the Navy JAGC is a feeling of "being part of something bigger than yourself." "It's hard to explain, but each day that I go to work, I can honestly say that in some small way I'm contributing to our country," he said. "I am not working only for a paycheck or only to improve my living conditions, although those things are important, but I'm contributing in a substantive way to the military's mission." Life is not all work for Protin. He's been married to the former Trish McBee of Severna Park, MD 14 years, and they are the parents of three children- Katy, 13; A.J., 11; Abby, 4. Mrs. Protin is a teacher by profession. "We met on a blind date, one that turned out very well," Protin smiled of the day Trish entered his life the summer after he graduated from the Naval Academy. "She's been solid as a rock and adjusted very well to military life. We've moved seven times during our marriage, and I honestly believe it's always more difficult for the wives than for anyone else making those transitions. My duties are built in, I have a support network of other JAGC personnel, and it's a rather smooth change. Kids, of course, seem to adjust better than adults because they can make new friends quickly, but the wives are, in a sense, starting over again each time we move. Trish handles it all very well, and I'm fortunate she's here." Family life is very important to Protin, and he's involved with his children as a coach in youth sports program i.e., baseball, softball, soccer. He also enjoys golf and woodworking, "when there's time." Family values were instilled by Protin's parents and growing up in Charleroi. "I miss living in a small town where you know the people and their families," he said. "I get back to Charleroi once or twice a year, depending on where I'm stationed, but I keep in touch with my parents and family. My parents have had the biggest impact on my life. Without them I would have not accomplished any of the things that have gotten me to where I am today." Protin also credits two educators for influencing his life- Dr. John Lozosky, former superintendent of schools at Charleroi Area who now holds the same position in the West Jefferson Hills School District, and Juliana Van Ardsale, a longtime teacher at CAHS. "Dr. Lozosky was a teacher at Charleroi when I was there, and he also was the Student Council faculty sponsor," Protin said. "He taught me a great deal about leadership, and he had an amazing ability to guide me while letting me make my own mistakes but then ensuring that I learned from them. Ms. Van Arsdale introduced me to the world of theatre but more importantly, she taught me never to use small budgets as an excuse to not have excellence. Her ability to do a lot with a little by using her creativity and her amazing work ethic taught me lessons that remain with me today." Those lasting lessons and others he's gained along the way give Protin a positive outlook. "Life is full of challenges and opportunities, and you need to make the most of them and not be afraid to fail," he said. "You have to learn as much as you can from every experience you encounter. In 1984, when I graduated from Charleroi Area High School, I had no idea where I would be in my life or what I would be doing twenty-one years later. But as opportunities present themselves, I have always tried to challenge myself to continue to learn and improve." As for life after the Navy, Protin hasn't made up his mind. "It's a day to day thing, if that makes sense," he said. "There are times when I think I might want to be a teacher, elementary school or perhaps high school science, and other times when I've considered being a law professor. I've been fortunate to have learned so much in my lifetime, and I'd like to pass that on to others when the time comes. I'd like to give back what has been given to me." PHOTO... Cdr. James A. Protin | Gai-Linn Tatrai, '87 | Jim Donley, '84 | William Procasky Jr., '85 | James A. Protin, '84 | Pete Kalamaras, '88 | Brend 'Bernie' Uhlemann, '85 | LaCarte Brothers, '85, '86, '87, '88 & '99 | | TEACHERS/STAFF | THE 40's and PRIOR | THE 50's | THE 60's | THE 70's | THE 80's | THE 90's | THE NEW MILLENNIUM! | | Return Home | 'Contact Us'... Submit Profile & UPDATES | Class Directory | Reunions (Includes Possible ALL 60's Reunion) | Where Are They Now? / Where They Were | Photo Gallery | TOWN TALK | Sports! | SCHOLASTICS | |
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