Ricky Rodriguez, from Houston, Texas, promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the United States Navy, May 27 aboard USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.

Rodriguez is the third generation of Navy Sailors in his family. His grandfather, Lorenzo, served aboard the destroyer USS Perkins (DD 877) as a culinary specialist (CS) from 1954-1957 and his father, Richard, served as an aviation machinist's mate (AD) from 1978-1982.

Rodriguez is the first in his family to transition from enlisted to officer.

The ceremony was held aboard USS Lexington. When Rodriguez was 13 years old, he took a father-and-son trip to Corpus Christi with Lakewood Church and spent the night aboard as part of Lexington's "live aboard" program.

"I thought the coffin racks we slept in was the coolest thing," said Rodriguez. "My dad taught me how they folded clothes in boot camp, so a lot could fit in small spaces. We ate food from the galley and took a tour -- that's when I fell in love with the Navy."

Jay Vallejo, Rodriguez' recruiter attended the ceremony.

"From the moment he first walked in to the office, I always knew he was officer material," said Vallejo. "He had a question every day. Even when we thought he couldn't ask any more questions, he called."

Rodriguez enlisted in August 2006 as a cryptologic technician, technical and deployed aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). While aboard Truman, Rodriguez was selected as the food service attendant (FSA) for the executive officer, Capt. Ron Reis.

"I want you to go to college," said Reis, during their first meeting in 2007. "What are your plans?"

He ensured Rodriguez had a plan for college and assisted with his Naval Academy application by arranging a flight to Bahrain to take the ACT exam and fly back on to the ship upon completion; an opportunity extremely rare for ship's company. Reis also wrote a letter of recommendation for Rodriguez and two months later, Rodriguez received his letter of appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.

He was accepted into the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) in 2009 and graduated from the Naval Academy with a Bachelor's of Science in English, May 24, 2013.

Upon commissioning from the Naval Academy, Lt. Rodriguez was assigned to USS Normandy (CG 60) as the auxiliaries' officer and completed the 2015 world-tour deployment in support of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) homeport shift to San Diego.

Capt. Reis, who went on to become the commanding officer of USS Nassau (LHA 4) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) before retiring, was the guest speaker and promoting officer.

"Officers and Sailors in the United States Navy are men and women of principle," said Reis. "We keep our word. We live with integrity. We are brave and strong in heart and in mind. We teach. We mentor. We give back to society and those we love. We are confident and appreciative for all that God has given us."

Lt. Rodriguez is currently a public affairs officer assigned to Defense Media Activity in Ft. Meade, Maryland.

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