NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- After a 25-year career, Master Chief Petty Officer Julia Grodski recently marked what will likely be her final re-enlistment with a ceremony that was every bit a reunion as it was a recommitment to the U.S. Navy. A group of more than 25 people gathered in the atrium of the Rear Adm. William A. Moffett Building on June 26 to witness Grodski, who works as the Performance Improvement Branch Leading Chief Petty Officer in the Logistics and Industrial Operations Department (AIR-6.7) here, come full circle with her career. That circle began 21 years ago in December 1991 when Grodski extended her first tour in the Navy, taking her re-enlistment oath at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, Calif., named after the admiral credited as the architect of naval aviation. The circle closed June 26 when Grodski chose Capt. Fred Hepler, the same officer who re-enlisted her in 1991, to preside over her ceremony. MEETING A ROLE MODEL Grodski and Hepler’s paths first crossed at Patrol Squadron 50, or (VP) 50, at Moffett Field when he was a lieutenant and her division officer and she worked as an aviation electronics technician at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department. “I was told that a Navy tradition was to ask an officer that you admired to administer your oath,” Grodski said. “I thought he [Hepler] was a great leader, role model and a good person, so, when the time came for me to re-enlist, I didn’t have to look any further than my division officer.” Now the program manager for the Aviation Support Equipment Office, or PMA-260, at Pax River, Hepler met Grodski again while the two were prepping for their Navy Physical Fitness Assessment, or PFA, a few months before her re-enlistment ceremony. “I recognized him right away; he hadn’t changed a bit.” Grodski said. “You never forget someone that influenced your early career and absolutely played a part in your decision to make the Navy a career.” For Hepler, that meeting was more than chance. “Master Chief Grodski asked me after the PFA if I would be available to re-enlist her on June 26,” Hepler said. “I enthusiastically, with fierce pride, said ‘yes’ to having this awesome opportunity to re-enlist her for the final time before she brings closure to her incredible career. It is surreal that Petty Officer Second Class Grodski re-enlisted the first time at Naval Air Station Moffett Field and her last re-enlistment took place at the Moffett Building at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.” LEAVING HIS MARK Hepler told the small crowd gathered to honor Grodski that they were “witnessing history.” “My fingerprints were on her contract for her first six-year re-enlistment and my fingerprints will be on the next four,” Hepler said. “Master Chief Grodski grew up in New York and started her watch in the Navy just days before Christmas in 1987. Little did I know she would be here for the long haul.” After leaving Moffett Field, Grodski set sail on a voyage that docked in many ports, offering her the opportunity achieve personal and professional milestones. While serving on a shore duty assignment at NAS Norfolk Va., she went to college at night and earned enough credits for an associate’s degree. In 1996, she embarked on what would become one of her most satisfying assignments as she joined the crew of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). “The Department of Defense’s Combat Exclusion Policy was lifted and, as a result, I was able to serve on an aircraft carrier and was on the ship’s second deployment that included females,” Grodski said. “I loved serving at sea and all of the challenges that went along with it. Anybody that deploys on a Navy ship can attest to the fact that the camaraderie and teamwork are second to none.” Grodski was also honored as Sailor of the Year while aboard Eisenhower. After her tour onboard Eisenhower, Grodski said she reluctantly went back to shore duty at NAS Oceana, Va., where she finished her bachelor’s degree. However, her heart remained at sea, and in 2002 she was assigned to USS George Washington (CVN 73) for two back-to-back deployments. Grodski’s final sea duty was aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1). There, she embarked on three surge deployments in a five-year time frame. In 2007, Grodski earned the rank of master chief petty officer, the ninth and highest enlisted pay grade in the Navy. By law, E-9s can make up no more than 1 percent of the enlisted force in any of the military services. A FINAL PORT OF CALL In 2009, Grodski transferred to Patuxent River, her final port of call on an adventurous career. “It was not my first choice to return to shore duty, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of interaction I have with the fleet, and proud to be serving the Sailors who are still out there,” she said. “I love what I do now, and hope that I’m making a difference.” Grodski’s father, who lives near the base, attended the ceremony and said he didn’t know his daughter would take her naval career so far. “I didn’t see this in her future,” Stan Grodski said after the ceremony. “She surprised us, enlisting in the Navy four days before Christmas. I knew she got her degree, but I’ve never heard half the stuff the captain shared about her. I’m extremely proud of her.”