by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“Join the Navy and see the world.”
For many young men and women, that recruiting slogan was what motivated them to enlist. It was something else that motivated retired Capt. Robert Buehn, who has been appointed by Mayor John Peyton to take over command of the City’s Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division. The resolution approving his appointment was introduced to the City Council Tuesday, but Buehn has been setting up his office at City Hall and getting the feel of his new command since April 13.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 1973 with a degree in journalism, he got a job at the Stuart (Fla.) News and took up flying as a way to get away from work and unwind.
“I discovered it was an expensive hobby, so I started looking around for a way to make a living flying,” said Buehn.
He decided the Navy was his best option, signed up and was commissioned as an Ensign in 1978. Thus began a 30-year career as an aviator, squadron commander, commanding officer and chief of staff that brought Buehn over the years to Cecil Field Naval Air Station, Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport in addition to duty stations from the Pacific to the Middle East.
“I spent about half of my career serving on bases in Jacksonville,” he said.
Buehn said one of his most interesting assignments was when he was Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That was 2000-03 when the detainees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began arriving.
“It was like being the mayor of a small town,” he said. “It was like going back in time to the late 1950s or early 1960s. We called it the Mayberry of the Caribbean because everybody on base knew everybody else. You could leave the keys in your car and it would be there when you went back.”
He met his wife, Debi, while he was working as a journalist and they married soon after he completed flight school.
“I had to wait until I had my wings,” said Buehn.
They have two sons: Tim, who will graduate from the Naval Academy next month and has been accepted for flight school, and Will, who is attending the University of Florida studying civil engineering.
During one of their tours of duty in Jacksonville, the Buehns bought a home in Clay County. The plan all along was to remain in North Florida when it was time to retire from the Navy in 2008, he said.
After about a year of fishing, freelance writing for outdoor publications and serving as an adjunct professor in the College of Distance Education branch of the Naval War College, Buehn said he came to the conclusion that, “56 is too young to retire.”
That’s also when Buehn’s predecessor, Dan McCarthy, decided to leave City service and transition to Chief Assistant State Attorney under Angela Corey. Buehn put in for the job and following a lengthy evaluation process involving several candidates, he got the call from Peyton offering the opportunity to take command.
Buehn made it clear his mission is not to make changes because changes aren’t needed.
“Dan McCarthy and his staff built a well-oiled organization,” he added. “We will continue to serve the military, veterans and disabled communities.”
One project that is on Buehn’s list is the continuation of the City’s effort to bring a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Mayport. He’s also going to call on his skills as a journalist to create a Web-based newsletter that will share military news with everyone in Jacksonville.
“This is as close to still having a uniform as I could get. I think I have found my dream job,” he declared.
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