Captain F. W. "Rocco" Montesano graduated in 1971 from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He completed his first carrier landings on USS LEXINGTON in July 1973 and earned his "Wings of Gold" in August 1973.

As a Navy jet aviator, Captain Montesano held a variety of positions while serving in several aircraft carrier based aircraft squadrons, including Squadron Commanding Officer. He served as a staff member of Naval Central Command in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and subsequently served as head of Test and Evaluation for Air Programs in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon. He commanded the Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi from 1994 to 1996 and served as Manpower Director for the Chief of Naval Air Training until retiring in 1998.

Captain Montesano completed eight cruises to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, and North Arabian Sea while serving on board the USS CORONADO and aircraft carriers USS SARATOGA, USS MIDWAY, USS KITTY HAWK, and
USS FORRESTAL. He has amassed over 5500 flight hours and 900 carrier landings.

Captain Montesano's awards include two Legion of Merit Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, two National Defense Medals, Overseas Service Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, and five Sea Service Ribbons.

Following a 30-year career in the U.S. Navy, Captain Montesano accepted the position of Executive Director of the USS LEXINGTON Museum in May 1998. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from St. Mary's University.

Captain Montesano is married to the former Joanne Jacobs of
Hackensack, New Jersey. They have two children, Michael and Cariann. Michael is a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin and Cariann graduated from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Texas A&M College Station Veterinary School. She currently works as a veterinarian in Corpus Christi.

Written by:
Jim Montesano
August 8, 2013