Tallahassee, Florida. (January 1, 2025): This week, America experienced a great sense of loss in the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. I joined the Army in 1976, the year he was elected, and was proud to serve four years under him as our commander in chief. For those too young to remember, this was a tumultuous time for the nation. The Viet Nam War had just ended and the American military was undergoing a painful transition after ten years of war. With the ending of the draft, the armed forces struggled with the “all volunteer” experiment and it would be many years for the armed forces to recover. The Iranian Hostage crisis, a sluggish economy, and double-digit inflation doomed his presidency yet he was a steady hand  who gave our forces time to reform.

Although portrayed in the media as a simple peanut farmer, James Earl Carter was a trained nuclear engineer who worked under famed Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the Navy's nuclear program. He  graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and was assigned to USS Wyoming as an ensign. He served on various surface assignments and was destined to become the engineering officer for the USS Seawolf, one of the first submarines to operate on atomic power. When his father died in July 1953, Carter resigned from the Navy with the rank of lieutenant and returned to his farm in Georgia. To express its gratitude, the Navy Seawolf-class submarine Jimmy Carter is named for the 39th president.

As a young troop at the time, I did not fully appreciate the stability provided by President Carter during these trying times for America’s military. He had the courage of his convictions and was widely respected by military professionals. I am grateful to have served under such a high-quality individual.

Jim Spearing (SSG, Ret.)
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