Richard (Rick) Armstrong joined the Navy in August 1975. He qualified Navy Master Diver in 1991 and was selected and commissioned into the Navy's Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Diving Technician program. Chief Warrant Officer Grade 5 Rick Armstrong retired from the Navy in April 2009.
Rick recalled the names of his mentors that inspired his successful career. His father, Richard Armstrong Sr., Master Chief Master Diver Robert "Bobby" Cave, Master Chief Master Diver George "Gunner" Powel, Master Chief Master Diver Russ Mallet, and Captain Bob Rupel. Other Navy Divers Rick mentioned were CWO and Master Diver Roland Bissonette, Master Chief Master Diver Mark Leet, Master Diver Chris Dolan, and others Rick said there were too many to mention. One of Rick's most accomplished moments in diving was standing up the Navy's first underwater dive weld team in the Navy. His most memorable dive missions were changing out two 42-ton propellers on the USS Ronald Reagon (CVN-72) and diving in 250 feet of seawater using mixed gas HEO2 to recover Ironclad USS Monitor's steam engine and condenser. Rick's history of assignments is Naval Training Center San Diego, California, Submarine School, Groton, Connecticut, USS John Marshall (SSBN-611), USS Deliver (ARS-23), Hull Maintenance Technician "A" School Treasure Island, California, Hull Maintenance Technician Welding and Cutting School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USS Acadia (AD-43), USS Dixon (AS-37), USS McKee (AS-41), Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, 2nd Class Dive School, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center 1st Class Dive School, Panama City, Florida, Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC) Dive Locker Point Loma and San Clement, California, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center Instructor Duty Coronado, California, Consolidated Divers Unit San Diego, California, Officer Candidate School, Pensacola, Florida, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO Little Creek, Virginia, and Southwest Regional Maintenance Center San Diego, California.