Capt. Todd Nichols retires from Navy

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

After a distinguished career, Captain Todd Nichols held a retirement ceremony honoring his forty years of Naval service on Oct. 28, 2022, at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club in Norfolk, Va.
Nichols was born in Jasper, Fla., and when his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to Monticello, Fla., at the age of six to be closer to his grandparents. Throughout his teen years, he did seasonal work as a gas station attendant, and occasionally worked at his father’s seafood restaurant and as a laborer for local farmers who grew hay, watermelons, and pecans.
As he reflects on the shaping influences of his youth, he recognizes many in the community for their positive encouragement during his upbringing. He especially reveres Sally Beshears, who became a supportive and guiding presence in Nichols' life, offering wise counsel. He's also thankful for several teachers at Jefferson County High School (JCHS) who found innovative ways to keep him and other classmates academically challenged. Two memorable math teachers at JCHS, Bill McRae and Kay Foland, pushed him to study advanced mathematics. Nichols highly regards Becky Pickenpaugh Stoutamire, who championed and started a gifted program at JCHS, introducing him to varied academic topics including the parliamentary, government and formal debate processes. English teachers Doris Scott and Gloria Norton held him to the strictest behavioral standards with demanding curricula which covered classic novels every student should read, which Nichols didn't appreciate until he encountered the high standards of self-study and discipline expected of him by the military. In school sports, Nichols was notably a member of the Jefferson County High School 1982 State Champion football team, where the importance of being part of a larger group and tenacity were instilled in him. He credits head coach Blair Armstrong and his coaching staff for teaching him the life values of perseverance and enduring resiliency through adversity.
After his first two years of high school, Nichols was looking forward to attending college. However, those hopes were dashed when he learned his family had no means for his college education. Local employment opportunities lacked upward mobility and career progression. In February of his senior year, Nichols enlisted with the Navy, intent on starting boot camp as soon as possible after graduation. He graduated from Jefferson County High School in 1983 and reported for duty in September that same year, just a couple of weeks after his 18th birthday.
His world travels on Naval submarines, ships and aircraft carriers began with boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill., where Nichols recalls experiencing his first harsh winter on Lake Michigan while completing Recruit Training and Machinists Mate “A” School. While there, he learned how to operate steam propulsion plants and gas turbine systems that propel the Navy’s massive ships. The following year, he completed the Navy’s rigorous Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Fla., where he says he felt pushed to his intellectual limits. As he learned reactor plant operations and advanced engineering principles and theories at a highly accelerated pace, he relied heavily upon the knowledge instilled by his JCHS math teachers to endure the program’s rigor. Next, he gained hands-on engineering experience during operational training in Ballston Spa, N.Y., where in six months' time he qualified on his first reactor plant and became eligible to serve on a nuclear submarine.
In his first operational assignment, he served five and a half years aboard U.S.S. GRAYLING (SSN 646), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, during the height of the Cold War with a demanding operational tempo. In that era, Nichols recalled being at sea nearly eleven months within a rolling calendar year. The submarine service is a demanding, dangerous and unforgiving profession; however, Nichols recalls a lighter moment like going to the North Pole and circumnavigating the globe in record time by running ‘around the world’ in just a few seconds, mere feet from the true North Pole. His next assignment was to the U.S.S. DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN 626) conversion crew, which converted a ballistic missile submarine to a Moored Training Ship (MTS 626).
During his enlisted service, Nichols steadily pursued promotions by gaining experience, developing skills, leading people and volunteering for the Navy’s most demanding and arduous assignments. After rapidly advancing to Chief Petty Officer, he was hand-selected as Machinery Division Leading Chief Petty Officer for the U.S.S. SEAWOLF (SSN 21) initial construction crew. Nichols says serving aboard this vessel was a highlight of his career; not only was it was the Navy’s first submarine built in the 21st century, SEAWOLF also was the most advanced, deepest diving, fastest and most heavily armed submarine in the fleet. While serving in these challenging positions, Nichols was concurrently completing his college education and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1993; at that time, Nichols transitioned from enlisted service to a commissioned officer.
After completing Officer Indoctrination School, Nichols served aboard U.S.S. MCKEE (AS 41) as the Nuclear Repair Officer and Planning and Estimating Officer. His next tour, aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier U.S.S. JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74), involved deployments in support of Operation Southern Watch, in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and Operation Enduring Freedom. As Ship’s Maintenance Officer aboard U.S.S. RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76), Nichols was heavily involved in completing new construction and delivery of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier of the time, an inter-fleet transfer and maiden Western Pacific deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For Nichols, delivering this ship from Norfolk, Va., to San Diego, Calif., was unforgettable. To make the transit, the ship travelled through the stunning Straits of Magellan, which he describes as “the last bastion of untouched places on earth – natural, preserved, with no imprint by civilization.”
Nichols was then selected to serve as the Production Management Assistant on U.S.S. EMORY S. LAND (AS 39), a Submarine Tender tasked with mobilizing or deploying to repair submarines and surface ships throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean theater. Though stationed in Italy, the ship traveled to Montenegro to host a summit for that country to enter NATO membership. While there, Nichols enjoyed the Old World setting of Montenegro, its rich history with castle ruins, stone forts and notably statuesque people.
Subsequently, Nichols was selected by the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program to serve as the Nuclear Limited Duty Officer Community Manager in Washington, D.C. Following this tour, he served as U.S.S. GEORGE H. W. BUSH (CVN 77) Chief Engineer, completing an extended combat deployment in 2014 which executed the initial strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). In that same year, Nichols was awarded the 2014 Commander U.S. Naval Air Forces Senior Officer Leadership Award for outstanding leadership in the execution of his duties. He then served as the Nuclear Power/Submarine Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer Branch Head (PERS 42) at Naval Personnel Command in Millington, Tenn.
During his naval service, Nichols completed his pursuit of a college degree. In 1993, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and in 2003 completed a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Financial Management from National University, graduating with Honors.
His final assignment was Norfolk Naval Shipyard Deputy Commander, overseeing the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive U.S. Navy industrial facility, with several additional tenant and satellite commands along the east coast of America. He oversaw nearly 12,000 civilian Dept. of Defense employees as well as approximately 1,100 military personnel charged with overhauling and maintaining nuclear attack submarines, ballistic missile submarines and aircraft carriers across the globe, wherever the U.S. Navy operated.
As Nichols looks back over his military career, he reflects, “When you choose to serve in the military, you never know what position you will be placed in, and what challenges you will face. The U.S. Navy does a great job at preparing Sailors for life’s adversities.”
As chronicled in his retirement ceremony, Captain Nichols traveled the world several times over, sailing in every sea and ocean, and setting foot on every continent in the world. Nichols' record of serving in 23 named operations and nearly every war since 1983 shows the commitment of a skilled Sailor and an Officer of the highest caliber dedicated to the Navy's mission to “maintain, train and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.”
At his retirement ceremony, Nichols was awarded the Legion of Merit on behalf of the President of the United States. His other awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Navy Commendation Medal (five awards), the Navy Achievement Medal (nine awards), Navy Expeditionary Medal, Southwestern Asia Service Medal, National Defense Medal (two awards), Good Conduct Medal (three awards), the Global War on Terrorism Medal and multiple other unit awards.
“The Navy provided me with a lot of opportunities,” says Nichols. “I travelled the world. I encountered many cultures and experienced things I never could have imagined growing up in Jefferson County. I’ve met some amazing people.”
In the end, he is grateful for the full spectrum of what he has endured, accomplished and learned.
“You can't quantify the value of those experiences,” he adds.
With so much to draw on and offer, Nichols spent only about one month in his transition from military retirement to the civilian sector. On Dec. 1, he was appointed as the Deputy Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, which works closely with the Virginia Governor’s staff and the U.S. Congressional delegation, advocating and influencing Federal policy, legislation and appropriations for the economic benefit of the Hampton Roads region. The Alliance includes 16 mayors and 14 major business leaders from the Hampton Roads area of coastal Virginia, advocating to bring beneficial federal projects to the area as well as take protective action against unwanted encroachments.
This means that Nichols will be staying in Norfolk for the foreseeable future and continue to have an impact on the lives of the Hampton Roads populace. It's a community he and his wife of 11 years, Sandra Walker of Waukeenah, look forward to enjoying from a new perspective.