After three years as Naval Radio Station (T) Jim Creek’s officer in charge and more than 21 years of Navy service, Lt. Ron Benton is saying farewell.

Since taking command of the 5,000-acre facility, Benton has overseen both the station’s transmitter and vast recreational facilities.

He’s led the facility through two separate bouts of regionalization and watched with great pride as his personnel stepped up to meet the challenge.

So it is with both sadness and excitement that Benton bids adieu to the Navy today and hands over command to Warrant Officer Jay Lorenz.

As Benton begins a new chapter in his life, it may be comforting to know that the scenery won’t change much.

“I hate to say it but I’ve become a Washingtonian,” said Benton. “This is the longest I’ve ever been anywhere in my Navy career."

Benton spent time on board USS Paul F. Foster (DD 964), as the combat systems officer before accepting orders to Jim Creek.

“Being the officer in charge, it’s pretty much what LDOs and warrant officers shoot for,” said Benton who spent his first 15 years in the Navy, eventually achieving the rank of Chief Data Systems Technician (DS).

“I’m one of the few DSs you’ll ever meet who came into the Navy as a DS and got out as a DS,” he said, referring to the now defunct rating.

He eventually applied for both the Navy’s warrant officer and limited duty officer (LDO) programs, achieving the rank of warrant officer in 1998, lieutenant (junior grade) in 2000, and finally lieutenant in 2002.

Having worked with electronics his entire career, Benton says he’s in no hurry to apply for a similar job in the civilian community. In fact, he’s not sure he wants to work at all.

“I’m in no real hurry to get a job right after I retire because my wife does pretty well, which is a nice position to be in,” said Benton. “I plan to take a couple of months off and just go fishing.”

“I’ll take a little sabbatical and see if I can handle retirement,” he smiled. “My wife doesn’t think so, but we’ll see what happens.”

“It’s kind of a weird situation because I’m 41-years-old and I don’t know what to expect, said Benton. “The Navy’s been coursing through my veins for more than 20 years and now I’m moving on.”

However, the retired lieutenant says he won’t go entirely cold turkey from the Navy. He plans on doing his fishing at Jim Creek’s fine facilities.

“I live right around the corner so I’ll be coming out quite a bit,” he said. 

Benton cited Jim Creek’s supporting cast as the reason the facility has both the Navy’s most efficient very low frequency (VLF) transmitter and Washington State’s most profitable MWR facility.

“The civilians out here are hands down, the best civil servants in the world,” said Benton. “These guys have been working out here 15 to 20 years and they really care about their jobs.”

“It’s not just about collecting a paycheck and clocking in and clocking out,” he said. “They have ownership of the facility and they take it personal when things aren’t going right.”

“And that in and of itself has been one of the most rewarding parts of working out here. They’ve really made my job easy,” he added.

Benton is quick to point out a particular situation where his crew came together.

“We really don’t get much help with the grass cutting anymore so it’s up to us to mow a great deal of the facility’s grassy areas,” he said. 

“So after making a few phone calls and finding out this is the way it’s going to be from now on, we decided to take it into our own hands.”

“One day, I just jumped onto a John Deere and started cutting grass. And as I expected, people followed suit,” said Benton. “These guys are the most phenomenal employees the Navy has.”

Benton has numerous tales about the hardworking, good-natured Jim Creek crew, he said despite the station’s gorgeous landscape, it’s the people he’ll miss the most.

“Everyday out here is a wonder,” Benton said with great enthusiasm. “I woke up every morning with a smile on my face knowing I was going out to Jim Creek for another day of work.”

“Turning the keys over to this place and leaving is going to be really hard.”