Story by Kyler Hood February 11, 2025 at 05:25PM After half a century of service to the U.S. Navy, Shawn Morrissey, 69, is looking forward to two things: spending well-deserved time with his five grandchildren and being on the water paddling an outrigger canoe. A former Navy salvage diver, Morrissey retired last month from his role as director of operations for Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH) on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), capping off a 17-year career as a Navy civilian, 30 years as an active-duty service member and four years as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. Morrissey is proud of his 51 years with the Navy and emphasized the ongoing importance of the service and its mission: “The Navy does the nation’s business,” he said. “The armed services, we’re the people who protect the sovereignty of the nation and the values that the nation represents. That’s the thing I try and remember all the time: ships, submarines, airplanes, and the people that are taking them into combat. Those are the people that should be 100% of the focus in everything we do every day.” As director of operations, Morrissey oversaw the operations of the Federal Fire Department, Port and Air Operations, Force Protection, Safety Operations, Emergency Management, and the CNRH explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) Detachment.
