Craig McAllister

Craig was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and spent most of his early years living in either Jersey City or Union City, New Jersey.  These are river front or river view towns which have cliff top views of the busy Hudson River and New York Harbor.  Spending all his youthful spare time during the milder seasons at the waterfront either fishing or crabbing or just gazing at the cruise ships, harbor tugs and freighters, Craig developed a love for the water and a fascination with boats and ships.  At the age of sixteen he left high school and labored at odd jobs. After his seventeenth birthday, an enlistment in the Navy was a happy inevitability. 

Traveling to Great Lakes RTC by train over the frozen ground was a rough and bumpy ride.  It took thirty hours to get there from the Hoboken, NJ railroad hub.  Arrival at RTC was on December 23, 1959. His first duty station after boot camp was the USS Pocono AGC-16.  After a year on deck, his request was approved for transfer to E Division where he soon became EMFN.  Due to the encouragement of the Engineer, Craig took his GED equivalency test on board, passed and applied for EM “A” school.  During his year and a half aboard the Pocono, the ship made a Mediterranean cruise and several jaunts to the Caribbean. The Pocono also took part in a naval firepower demonstration during the Cuban Missile Crisis.   

Craig’s “A” school request was approved and he was transferred to the EM “A” school at Great Lakes.  While in school, Craig was notified that he had made EM3 and he promptly put on his crow. Upon graduation, Craig was assigned to the USS Impervious MSO-449, homeport in Long Beach, CA.  As Craig says, “I was really happy. This was my first choice in “A” school. It was a much smaller ship than the Pocono and it was located on the west coast, where I wanted to go”.  

The Impervious made daily operations for a few months then Craig was sent TAD, to Minesweeping and Automatic Degaussing School in Charleston.  Upon his return to the Impervious, Craig assumed duties as the Minesweeping Electrician’s Mate in charge of operating and maintaining the electrical minesweeping gear and automatic degaussing equipment.  Craig completed his naval service aboard the Impervious with a west pac cruise where operating out of Subic Bay, Philippines was the norm. The ship made excursions to Japan and some patrol duty in Viet Nam.  He was discharged as EM2. 

After service in the Navy, Craig worked as an electrician in New Jersey. Craig was honored with the recognition of having scored the highest ever (at that time) on the New Jersey state electricians certification test.  In 1968, he wanted a greater technical challenge and accepted a position as Field Service Engineer with Treadwell Corporation in NY. 

Treadwell manufactures oxygen generating systems installed on nuclear submarines.  For ten years, traveling throughout the world, Craig serviced, performed troubleshooting, and initial start-ups of the Oxygen Generators for the Navy. In essence, Craig went back to sea while working aboard over a hundred submarines.  Desiring a career change Craig accepted a position with General Electric Company and then the Hamilton Standard Division of United Technologies as a Product Development Specialist. 

While at these companies, Craig continued to work on Navy equipment in a technical and engineering capacity for an additional ten years.  Desiring another change, he returned to Treadwell in 1988, continued his education, and became Product Development Manager in the engineering department.  He works in both the mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines designing components, systems and circuits for Navy equipment.  Also being a member of the US Navy League and the US Naval Institute keeps Craig very current with naval affairs. 

Craig now has forty years of close ties with the Navy since being discharged.  He occasionally is called to go aboard a submarine and is often working with NAVSEA on special projects.  Craig routinely holds classes at his company’s location in Connecticut for Navy Machinist Mates, Electronics Technicians and Electricians Mates to teach the theory and operation of the AEOG Automated Electrolytic Oxygen Generator.  He also is called to teach other subjects such as Oxygen Cleanliness and Safety, IPC soldering certification, and other industrial courses.  He has always enjoyed being involved with the Navy during his working life.  He will retire in August of 2008. 

In his recreational life Craig thoroughly enjoys boating and fishing in his thirty two foot Luhrs Tournament Sport Fisherman.  His marina of choice is in Mystic Connecticut where he spends a good deal of time during the boating season which he pushes from April fifteenth to November fifteenth.  Also a member of the US Power Squadrons, Craig teaches public boating courses as a volunteer and has advanced navigational degrees. 

Craig also enjoys being a member of the Canton Center Congregational Church where he has held positions as Trustee, Deacon and President and is generally known as cook of the church.  He is known to enjoy cooking for very large groups. 

Craig and Linda will be celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary in 2008.  They have two wonderful daughters and a great son-in-law. Craig encouraged Jarred, his son-in-law, to volunteer to be the webmaster of Lucid’s web site. 

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Lucid MSO-458 Foundation, Craig stays active in planning the Lucid’s future with the other board members.  Some of his pet projects have been associated with public communications, fund raising, and membership.