Sibling Revelry
Brothers take command of their naval careers

Since 10-04-04

Navy Journalist Mary Camacho, 7th Fleet Public Affairs

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Yokosuka, Japan - In the summer of 1971, Jay Donnelly entered the Naval Academy for his plebe summer, 20 years after his father was commissioned through NROTC while a student at Yale.  That day in June, Lt. Cmdr. John D. Donnelly, dropped his son, Jay, at the academy, drove to Washington D.C., had a short retirement ceremony and returned to Annapolis, Md. to watch his son take the oath of enlistment as a Midshipman.  The following year, Michael Donnelly, Jay’s younger brother, also entered the academy.

Now, 28 years later, the two Groton, Conn.-born Donnelly brothers are captains and both are in major command positions in Yokosuka, Japan.

Capt. Jay Donnelly is the Chief of Staff for Commander, Seventh Fleet, embarked on USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19).  As the Chief of Staff, he serves as the commanding officer for the 200 officers and Sailors on the Admiral’s personal staff.

Capt. Michael Donnelly took command of Yokosuka’s Public Works Center June 25.  PWC Yokosuka provides facilities maintenance and repair, transportation, utilities, and environmental services for naval activities in the Yokosuka area.

This marked the third time in their naval careers both brothers have been stationed at the same geographical location.  They were also in the Norfolk, Va. area together in the mid-1980s and in the Washington D.C. area in the early 1990s.

Growing up as sons of a naval officer helped prepare them for their future careers in the sea service.  Their father was a submariner who spent many years on diesel submarines and moved his family throughout the country with each assignment.  The two have a younger brother, Brian, who is an electrical engineer.

"We moved around a lot but lived in interesting places," recalls Michael.  "As I got older, it became more difficult to move and I can see that now with my children.  But I have many fond memories of where we lived, such as Monterey (California), Charleston, South Carolina, and McLean, Virginia."

His older brother concurs.  "Moving around a lot had its advantages in that it caused us to be very close," says Jay.   "We were our own best friends and the experience taught us the importance of family ties.  It forced us to be more outgoing and meet people and make friends quickly."

Although they were outgoing as boys, both had different reasons for following their father in military service.

"I admired my dad a great deal and his accomplishments while he was in the Navy," says Jay.  "I went to high school in Virginia near Annapolis and it became a means for me to achieve independence more quickly by going to a service academy."

He was interested in a submarine career like his father.

"I thought the submarine service was the most prestigious branch of the Navy and had the greatest opportunity for me," says Jay.   "I had considered all my service options – surface, air – but subs were the best."

Mike says that as a teenager, the Navy was not his life passion, as much as it was for his older brother.

"I didn’t think about applying to the academy until I visited him in his plebe summer," says Mike.  He liked what he saw, so he applied for an appointment the following year, never expecting to be selected, he says.

As it turns out, the younger Donnelly was accepted -- but on a waiver because of color blindness.

"Because of my vision, I couldn’t become an unrestricted line officer, and was unable to get into the submarine community," says Mike.  "I would have selected subs because the technical nature of the submarine force interested me."

Instead, the younger Donnelly focused on a career as a civil engineer corps officer, graduating fifth in his class from the Naval Academy in 1976 with a bachelor of science in ocean engineering.

His career started with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One where he deployed to Puerto Rico and Midway Island.  He has also been the resident officer in charge of construction in Bethesda, Md., and on Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and the public works officer at Naval Air Station Bermuda.   He also served as the head of the Base Operations Group and the Base Development Group at the Atlantic Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Norfolk.

Before reporting to PWC Yokosuka, Mike Donnelly was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy as the deputy for management.  However, throughout his career in the sea service, there is one place he’s never been stationed -- at sea.

"I have had a rewarding and enjoyable career as a civil engineer corps officer," he says.  "I have had very little time on board ships and haven’t missed it."

In fact, he jokes that the most time he ever had at sea since his days at the Naval Academy was when he took his family on a Caribbean cruise.

Jay, on the other hand, has seen his share of sea time, and most of it has been under the sea.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1975 with a bachelor of science degree in physics, he attended the Naval Postgraduate School and received a masters of science in engineering acoustics.  His first assignment following nuclear propulsion training and submarine school was as sonar officer, main propulsion assistant and weapons officer on USS Tautog (SSN-639) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.   He also served as engineer officer on USS Memphis (SSN-691) and as executive officer of USS Simon Boliver (SSBN-641) before taking command of USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) and the submarine tender USS McKee (AS-41).

The two Donnelly brothers are the second generation from their family to serve in the Navy, but soon there will be a third.  Jay’s two sons are future naval officers.  One is a Midshipman in the Naval Academy class of 2000.  The other is a NROTC Midshipman at Miami University of Ohio class of 2001.

"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery," Jay says about his sons following him in the Navy.  "I did not force either of them into an officer-commissioning path; it was their own decision.   I’m very pleased they’ve chosen the Navy.  It’s a great way to start a professional life."

Jay also has a 16-year-old daughter, who has not yet decided what she will do after high school.

Mike’s two children are in grade school, so he says they still have a way to go before they start talking about a Navy career.

So, will the two captains who went to the Naval Academy together eventually retire together?

"We’ve never talked about it," Mike says.  "That would be interesting.  But right now, I’m playing things out to see what happens and making the most of my tours and what the Navy gives us."

His elder brother agrees.

"I think we both have a lot of opportunities still ahead of us," Jay says.  "I hope to stay in the Navy as long as my career progresses.  I have support from my family and I’m enjoying what I’m doing and making a positive contribution to the Navy."

"I just figure he’s going on to be the Chief of Naval Operations," says Mike of his older brother.

-USN-