Peter M. Hekman
Vice Admiral (Retired), U.S. Navy
Peter M. Hekman retired from active naval service in 1991 with the permanent rank of Vice Admiral. He has been residing in San Diego and remains active as a Private Consultant in both management and technical matters to a variety of firms and organizations since 1999. He actively participates in both leadership and participatory roles with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, in Civic and cultural organizations, as a Director of Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and as a Director of the six-state Southwest Defense Alliance (SWDA).
Peter’s civilian service allowed him to serve as a Senior Executive in the U.S. Department of Energy, as Manager of the Department’s largest Field Activity, the 320 square mile Savannah River Site located in South Carolina. He later served as Vice President of SYNTEK Technologies in our Nation’s Capital, providing technical consulting services to the Defense Department and to foreign and domestic private industry, and for several years consulted to the nuclear power industry. In 1996-98 he served industry as President of Babcock and Wilcox of Ohio, the Managing Contractor for the Radiological cleanup of DOE’s former Weapons components and test site near Dayton.
He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in early 1951 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. His Navy career was characterized by his involvement in readiness, maintenance, equipment and systems design and deployment, and in training. Sea tours include three ship commands; a Destroyer Escort, a Guided Missile Destroyer, and a Nuclear Powered Cruiser, plus five Engineer Officer tours, one of which was a four-year tour as Engineer Officer of USS ENTERPRISE. He also served for three years as Material Readiness Officer of the AIW Nuclear plant in Idaho, and for two years as Senior Instructor at the Navy’s Material Readiness School for Senior Officers.
Peter commanded Task Forces in both the Western and Eastern Pacific, and in the mid 1980’s served for over two years as Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group One, which at the time was composed of 6 nuclear and 6 conventional Cruisers, and seven Destroyer Squadrons, and was assigned additional responsibilities by COMNAVSURFPAC for all CRUDES overhaul, maintenance, and material readiness. He also served as Deputy Director of the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon.
He served as Deputy Director, Navy Research, Development, Test and Evaluation on the Staff of the CNO from 1985 – 1987 where he was intimately involved in the development of new weapons and systems for the Navy. Peter served as Deputy Commander for Surface Combatants and Carriers, Naval Sea Systems Command prior to assuming command of NAVSEA in 1988. NAVSEA at the time was the largest Material Command in the Department of Defense, with over 110,000 personnel and an annual budget exceeding $25 Billion. He supervised the management of all Naval Shipyards, all Weapons and Ordnance Depots and Stations, numerous Engineering Stations and test facilities. He oversaw all ship design and construction, ship maintenance programs, all weapons and ordnance design and acquisition, and acted as the Navy’s Senior Engineer. He additionally oversaw all Navy training programs in both the Engineering and Combat Systems fields.
Peter is a life member of the American Society of Naval Engineers and the recipient of that Society’s most prestigious award – the H. E. Saunders Award for Career-long contributions to operational engineering, technical excellence, and personal leadership in the broad field of naval engineering. In addition to numerous awards stemming from his military service, which include the Bronze Star Medal, four awards of the Presidential Legion of Merit, and the Defense Department Superior Service Award and Medal, Peter is also a recipient of the Department of Energy Exception Service Award and Medal.
He holds a Master of Science in Management degree and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the Navy’s Nuclear Power Training Program. Peter is a native of Ripon, California.