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Capt. Sheila Patterson (USN), commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center at the Dahlgren naval base. |
DON'T WORRY about that swooshing sound you can occasionally hear at 5:30 a.m. in the swimming pool on the Dahlgren naval base.
That's just the first female commander in the 89-year history of the base's Naval Surface Warfare Center doing her indoor laps.
Hitting the road from her Prince William County home at 4:15 a.m. is part of the morning drill for 47-year-old Sheila Patterson, who followed her interest in sports to the Naval Academy just two years after women were first admitted.
Despite the eye-opening schedule for Patterson, a self-described "morning person," some things in her Navy life haven't stayed strictly on schedule.
For example, there was that plan to put in seven years of service in the Navy after the academy, and then focus on raising the family. The two boys and one girl arrived ahead of schedule.
So Patterson has made a career of it, rising in May to the command of a 2,800-person center of scientists, engineers and sailors who have become, in Sen. John Warner's words, "one of the crown jewels of American defense."
During her naval journey to the King George County base, Patterson has navigated an array of technical assignments, most recently as executive assistant to the admiral who oversees the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.
But her service got its start in the 1980s in Annapolis, when women were just beginning to pass through the doors of the Naval Academy.
From her home in Connecticut, where her dad worked for the federal government, Patterson was hoping to leverage her interest in sports into an ROTC scholarship. But thanks to a weekend visit to Annapolis as a high-schooler, her sights quickly focused on the Naval Academy.
Raised a Catholic, Patterson didn't chafe at the restrictions of military life. Active in sports, especially swimming and crew, she avoided some of that first-year hazing by earning a seat at an athletes' table.
She's still pushing the athletic limits, including some recent golf lessons. Patterson has occasionally played in a Dahlgren "men's league"--from the men's tees.
You can see the discipline Patterson brought to competitive sports in her management style, too. She likes lists.
During a recent chat in her office on the Dahlgren base, Patterson leafed through that day's to-do list, the short-term to-do list and the long-term to-do list.
Then there are those weekly menu lists at home, where Patterson cooks dinner Monday through Thursday. Friday is eat-out night with her husband, Bill, a retired naval officer who works for a contractor in Northern Virginia.
Quick with a laugh, Patterson doesn't let the lists get in the way of her people connections. She describes her management style as "participative," and is OK with important meetings running long, provided they don't waste time. Surrounded by "smart people," she invites department heads to key meetings with private-sector contractors.
The other day, Patterson's meetings stretched from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with three half-hour breaks.
Patterson sees her mission at Dahlgren as helping to ensure that the warfare center remains relevant in meeting 21st-century warfighters' needs.
That means staying nimble enough to fast-track key projects without sacrificing Dahlgren's traditional commitment to basic research.
It's a tall order for someone who's also making gender history. But then Patterson doesn't seem to mind jumping into the deep end--even at 5:30 a.m.
Ed Jones: 540/374-5401| Sheila Patterson is sharing the stage for making gender history at the Dahlgren naval base in King George County. She's the first female commander ever for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, the largest of the six military commands at Dahlgren.
Meanwhile, Capt. Judy Smith continues her service as the first female commander of the Dahlgren base, now part of Naval Support Activity, South Potomac. Her responsibilities include day-to-day operations at Dahlgren and at Indian Head in Maryland, along with two other smaller Navy contingents in the D.C. area. |
