Kansas City Navy Week 2010 will have a Rear Adm. Michael E. McLaughlin Commander, Submarine Group 2 serve as our leading spokesperson. There will be guest appearances from a Namesake Crew plus the Navy Blue Angels, Navy "Leap Frog" Parachute Team, Navy Band and other outstanding local Sailors.

Rear Adm. Michael E. McLaughlin
Commander, Submarine Group 2

Rear Adm. McLaughlin is a 1981 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. He also has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska.

McLaughlin completed operational assignments in USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685) and Greenling (SSN 614) as a division officer, USS Groton (SSN 694) where he served as engineer officer, and Pre-commissioning Unit Hartford (SSN 768) and USS Dallas (SSN 700) as executive officer.

He commanded USS La Jolla (SSN 701) and Submarine Squadron 11.

McLaughlin’s shore duty tours include junior member on the Atlantic Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, action officer at the United States Strategic Command, Submarine Force Atlantic representative at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, prospective commanding officer instructor and fleet technical assistant to the deputy director, Naval Reactors, chief of staff to commander Submarine Force, director Enterprise Integration and Analysis (N09X) on the OPNAV staff and deputy director for Operations on the Joint staff, before reporting to his present assignment as commander of Submarine Group 2.

McLaughlin’s decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal (two awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (five awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit awards.

Rear Adm.
Michael E. McLaughlin
Commander, Submarine Group 2

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Rear Adm. J. Stanton Thompson (Ret)               

Rear Adm.  J. Stanton Thompson retired July 9, 2005, after 35 years of service.

Rear Adm. Thompson’s final assignment was Special Assistant for Reserve Matters to the Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aero- Space Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colo., and was responsible for the integration of reserve forces into homeland defense and defense support to civilian authorities.   He also served as a principal advisor to the Commander for maritime homeland defense.  USNORTHCOM was created following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Rear Adm. Thompson was one of a handful of flag and general officers chosen to stand-up the command. 

Rear Adm. Thompson graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree (Majoring in Agricultural Business), and in 1974 with a Bachelor of Journalism Degree (Majoring in Advertising). He was commissioned through the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), and was initially assigned to the USS Kilauea (AE-26) as gunnery officer, then cargo officer, and finally First Lieutenant (a department head position). During two extensive deployments, Kilauea supplied ammunition to U. S. Naval Forces conducting combat operations off the coast of Vietnam. He was released from active duty in September 1972.

Rear Adm. Thompson was recalled to active duty in September 1990 in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served as Commander, Port Security Harbor Defense Group TWO, Port of Al Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As group commander he was responsible for the maritime defense of this strategic port.

From 1992 to 1995, Rear Adm. Thompson served as Commander, Inshore Undersea Warfare Group TWO, Williamsburg, Va.  This command consisted of 14-commissioned hardware equipped Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Units (MIUWUs). As commodore he provided and supported MIUWU forces during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

Rear Adm. J. Stanton Thompson (Ret)  

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Cmdr. Marc A. Stern
Commanding Officer, USS Topeka (SSN 754)

Cmdr. Marc Stern, a native of Sunnyvale, California, attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 1989. Upon commissioning, he attended Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida, Nuclear Prototype Training in Windsor, Connecticut, and the Submarine Officer Basic Course in Groton, Connecticut.

Cmdr. Stern reported to USS GURNARD (SSN 642) in January 1991 and served in various
Division Officer assignments. During that time, the ship completed two Western Pacific
deployments.

Cmdr. Stern then served from November, 1993 to November 1995 as the Staff Submarine Officer for the Commander in Chief, Iberian-Peninsula Atlantic in Lisbon, Portugal. He was then assigned as Engineer Officer on USS GATO (SSN 615) from November 1995 to April 1996 and then decommissioned USS PUFFER (SSN 652) from April 1996 to July 1996 and USS SUNFISH (SSN 649) from July 1996 to March 1996.

Following graduation from the Submarine Officer Advanced Course in September 1997, Cmdr. Stern reported to USS WYOMING (SSBN 742) (GOLD) for duty as Navigation/Operations Officer, where he completed four strategic deterrent patrols, including one to the Mediterranean. In March 2002, he went on to serve as the Operations Officer for Submarine Squadron TWENTY, during which time he completed a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Breneau University.

Following Prospective Executive Officer training, his next assignment was as Executive Officer
on USS HAMPTON (SSN 767) from May 2002 to March 2004. During that tour the ship completed a Mediterranean deployment. CDR Stern then served as Executive Officer on the COMSUBLANT Tactical Readiness Evaluation Team from March 2004 to March 2005.

Following completion of Prospective Commanding Officer training, CDR Stern reported to assignment in September 2005 as the COMSUBRON 11 Deputy Commander for Readiness.

He then reported to his current assignment as commanding officer of USS TOPEKA (SSN 754) in April 2007.

Cmdr. Stern's awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (five awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (five awards) and various unit awards

USS Topeka (SSN 754)

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