John Hagan (born 20 May 1946) is a retired senior sailor of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

who served as the eighth

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy The master chief petty officer of the Navy (MCPON ) is a unique Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned rank and position of office of the United States Navy, which is designated as a special U.S. uniformed services pay grades, paygrade a ...

Early life and education

Hagan was born in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, England on 20 May 1946. He was born to an American father, serving in the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, and a British mother, serving in the British Auxiliary Territorial Force (ATF the British counterpart to the US Army WACs). He moved to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

when he was an infant. He grew up and attended school there until his enlistment in the Navy.

Naval career

After high school, Hagan enlisted in the

in December 1964 and attended basic training at Recruit Training Center,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He then attended Electronics Technician "A" School at Naval Training Center,

Treasure Island, California Treasure Island is a man-made island in San Francisco Bay, and a neighborhood in the City and County of San Francisco. Built in 1936–37 for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, the island was named by Clyde Milner Vandeburg, part of ...

, and completed a short assignment at Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland. After he completed Ground Control Approach Radar Technician School at Naval Air Technical Training Center,

Glynco, Georgia Glynco is an area in Glynn County, Georgia located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, Georgia. Glynco is a portmanteau of the words "Glynn County". History In 1942, the Naval Air Station Glynco was established on the area now known as Glynco. ...

, Hagan reported to Naval Air Station,

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, ultimately becoming the Leading

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

for the Air Search Radar Maintenance Division. During his tour there, he earned an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree from Skagit Valley College and was the recipient of the President's Honor Medal (second highest GPA in the graduating class). Hagan's next permanent assignment was aboard , homeported in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy. During a subsequent tour of sea duty as a support maintenance technician at Underwater Demolition Team 21 in Little Creek, Virginia, he was advanced to

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

and qualified as a naval

parachutist Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

. While assigned to a shore tour at Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, he was advanced to

senior chief petty officer Senior Chief Petty Officer ''(SCPO)'' is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries. United States U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officercollar device U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officerinsignia Senior chiefpetty officer ...

. While there, he earned his

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

degree from

McKendree University McKendree University (McK), formerly McKendree College, is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1828 as the "Lebanon Seminary", it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. The school was renamed McKendree ...

. In September 1980, Hagan reported aboard , homeported in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. While there, he qualified as an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist and was advanced to

master chief petty officer A master chief petty officer is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above some grade of petty officer. United States Master chief petty officer (MCPO) is the ninth (just below the rank of MCPON) enliste ...

. Shortly after reporting to his next assignment at the Naval Air Technical Training Center at

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, he was selected as the Force Master Chief for the Chief of Naval Technical Training. In April 1988 Hagan reported to Pre-Commissioning Unit ''Philippine Sea'' (CG-58) in Bath. After the vessel's commissioning the following year, she reported to her homeport in

Mayport, Florida Mayport is a small community located between Naval Station Mayport and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities on San Pablo Island. The only public road to Mayport is State Road A1A, wh ...

, and subsequently deployed to the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

s in support of

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. During this tour of duty, he qualified as

Officer of the Deck An officer of the deck (OOD) underway is a watchstanding duty officer on a surface ship in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who is tasked with certain duties and responsibilities for the ship. ...

(Underway), and stood the OOD UW for his entire CMC tour. Soon after reporting to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron (Light) 48 at

, as the command master chief, Hagan was selected as the eighth

. He assumed his position on 28 August 1992. Hagan served as MCPON for nearly six years, serving under three Chiefs of Naval Operations, Admiral

Frank Kelso Frank Benton Kelso II (July 11, 1933 – June 23, 2013) was an admiral of the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1994. Early life Kelso was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on July 11, 1933. He attended public ...

, Admiral Mike Boorda and Admiral Jay L. Johnson. This tour length anomaly was due in large part to the death of Admiral Boorda in May, 1996 and the subsequent request by Admiral Johnson that Hagan continue to serve. Hagan retired as MCPON in 1998.

Personal life

Hagan is married to Cathy Hagan. They have three children, Robert Hagan, Melissa Smith, and Melody Blanchard. Robert Hagan, the oldest, retired from the Marine Corps in 2014 as a Colonel with 25 years service and is married to Linda Hagan, with two children. Melissa Smith is married to Deane Smith, who retired in June 2017 from a 30-year USCG career as a BMCM. She has three children. His youngest, Melody Blanchard was married (now divorced) to Lloyd Blanchard, a college professor at UCONN, they had one child. John continues leading his Chiefs through his active riding and mentoring role in the Old Dogs Veteran's Motorcycle Association.

Awards and decorations

* 8 gold service stripes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagan, John 1946 births Living people Master Chief Petty Officers of the United States Navy McKendree University faculty Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)