U.S. Navy Capt. Beth Regoli didn’t just finish her stint as commander of Naval Air Station Key West on May 30. She also completed her entire 26-year naval career.
Capt. Colin Thompson took Regoli’s place at the helm of Key West’s naval operations at a change of command ceremony that also included the pageantry and patriotism of a naval officer’s retirement.
Regoli’s friends and family traveled to Key West for the career finale, and five of her closest military confidantes took part in the solemn “Old Glory” ceremony in which a folded American flag was passed from one servicemember to another, with each saluting the flag until it rested with Regoli, who then presented it to her parents in the audience.
After spending three years commanding NAS Key West, Regoli will retire to Annapolis, Maryland, where she attended the U.S. Naval Academy years ago.
Thompson is reporting from Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tennessee, where he was the Career Progression Division director.
His previous duty assignments include Naval Flight Officer P-3C Orion training with Patrol Squadron (VP) 30 in Jacksonville; and a flying tour with the “Red Lancers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 10 in Brunswick, Maine. Thompson’s operational tours include assistant navigator aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan; department head with the “Skinny Dragons” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; and executive officer and commanding officer with the “Wizards” of Special Projects Patrol Squadron (VPU) 2 in Kaneohe Bay and Jacksonville.
Thompson’s shore assignments include instructor NFO at VP-30, flag secretary to Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group in Norfolk, Virginia; and three tours at Navy Personnel Command.
A native of Merrimack, New Hampshire, Thompson enlisted in the Navy in September 1997. Following basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, he reported to Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Orlando for machinist’s mate “A” school and nuclear power school. His first assignment was as a staff instructor in Nuclear Power Training Unit Ballston Spa, New York. During this tour, Thompson attended New School University, earning a bachelor’s degree in human resources management.
Thompson was commissioned as an ensign after completing Officer Candidate School in April 2002, and designated a Naval Flight Officer in August 2003.
