Rick Bettua

Master Chief Rick Bettua served thirty years as a U.S. Navy diver, enlisting at age seventeen in 1979. He finished his career in 2008 as a Command Master Chief Petty Officer and Master Diver, then returned for another three-year stint as an advisor, retiring in 2011. He qualified as a Master Diver in 1991, and was promoted early to Master Chief Petty Officer in 1995. In October 2004, he became the Command Master Chief of Mobile Diving Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1) in Hawaii. In that role, he managed the world’s largest and most diverse diving command with more than 250 personnel operating throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as Iraq and Kuwait. As a Surface Warfare Specialist, he served in Desert Storm, Desert Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. His awards include: Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Navy Commendation Medal (5 awards), Air Force Life Saving Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal (8 awards). Master Chief Bettua has three sons, Nicholas, Troy and Derek and has been married to Angela since March 2006.