Byron Trop is a new staff member to Lewis-Palmer High School this year, he is the intro to business, management, and the fundamentals of account teacher for our school after he graduated from the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy was something that he got into while even serving in the Navy for our country.

 Trop’s dad served as a career officer in the Army right after the attack on Pearl Harbor happened in our country. His dad showed him how he can serve in our country just like he did, and how he can become a hero while serving in any military academy that he wants to be in.

“My dad was a career army officer, he joined the Army right after Pearl Harbor was over. He enlisted me with this idea of service, and we talked about it when I was a kid. even when I was in high school and junior high, and I’d always planned to go to a service Academy,” Trop said. 

The United States Naval Academy is to develop Midshipmen morally, mentally, and physically and to enlist them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and for Byron Trop, it was for him to go into the Naval Academy, and it gave him the chance to do something great in his life.

A decision had to be made for Trop for what he wanted to pursue as a career, he looked at all of the military academies and he also looked at several other universities, but his mind was telling him to do what felt the best for him. He spoke to his dad about what career he wanted to pursue in order to join the Naval Academy.

“I looked at all of the military academies and several other universities, and in the end, it just came down to what felt the best for me.” Trop said.

The United States Naval Academy stands for having the purpose of preparing young men and women to enter the lowest commissioned ranks of the United Navy and Marine Corps. It is an institution of higher education that is conducted by the United States Department of the Navy and it is located at Annapolis, Maryland.

“The Naval Academy stands for the service Academy, several service academies in general, I think that’s what it best represents to me the most. I think you’re trying to build a leadership career for the military forces in our country. I think it stands for service, dedication,integrity,and honor. So there’s a whole set of standards that are committed to joining the Naval Academy, I think what goes along with that are the things that are most important to me.” Trop said.

The graduating class of 1980 will be commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. Nearly all qualified graduates are commissioned into the unrestricted line of the Navy and Marine Corps. The lines are very restricted to men and women who want to join the Navy and the Marine Corps. 

Trop’s major to join the Naval Academy was an ocean engineering corps major which is basically a mechanical engineer underwater, but he decided to be on the submarines instead because he thought that submarines was the one that suited him the best. “I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1980.” Trop said.

Trop had many great memories while he was serving in the Naval Academy, and of great friends. They were all in the same career field which is being on the submarines, before they went overseas on the submarines. Trop is still in contact with some of his friends that served with him in the Naval Academy today.

“I loved every minute of being in the Naval Academy, and I even liked the parts that were fun. I loved the people that I went to school with that I was around with everyday, they’ve been a big part of my life ever since I graduated.” Trop said. “Ever since I started at the Naval Academy, I’m still involved with a number of those guys, and I love the people and the friendships that I have made during that time.”

For the Naval Academy graduates of 1980, the frequent three week deployments are often scheduled between six-month deployments. Trop was deployed on three or four patrols, and he went to two different countries while he was serving with the Navy. 

“I was on submarines, I went on patrols, probably on three or four patrols in groups of three for a half an hour, I was on the boat and I was also in the shipyard, we went up near a lot of countries, we didn’t go to many countries,” Trop said. “I did go to France and England, we also went up near Russia and to other places like that.” 

After World War II ended, the United States Navy entered the 45 year long Cold War and they participated in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the First Persian Gulf War, and the Second Persian Gulf War, and the Iraq War. Trop fought in three of our major wars in our country while he was serving in the United States Navy.

“The Cold War with the Russians, I was in the 80’s, which it was the height of the Cold War, and the Cold War basically ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991, and so we were right there when it happened. We had a big part of the conflict with Russia in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.” Trop said.