The Orange County Cadet Squadron
is pleased to welcome
Romero Iral
Commander, US Navy, Retired
Transportation Security Administration
December 8, 2020
Romero Iral was born in Heidelberg, Germany and grew-up all over the world. He is the son of a career soldier who served in the Intelligence field and in the Special Forces (Green Berets) of the US Army.
Upon graduation from high school in 1977, he enlisted in the US Navy and then attended the US Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, RI. He then attended the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 1982. He also attended the US Naval War College in Newport, RI where he earned a Masters of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies which included studies in: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) / Terrorism, the CIA, and Intelligence gathering systems.
As a surface ship warfare specialist, he served on a wide variety of ships including: an amphibious warfare ship, logistics ships, a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser, and a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (USS Dwight D Eisenhower) and operated in areas such as: Beirut, Lebanon; Mogadishu, Somalia; and the Arabian Gulf. His naval career has been primarily in Planning and Operations and he has experience and training in counter-terrorism and defense against chemical, biological, and radiological agents. His last active duty assignment was as the Director of Operations for Joint InterAgency Task Force West located in the San Francisco Bay area where he conducted counter-drug operations throughout the Eastern Pacific Ocean and South East Asia. He directed the tactical operations of US Navy, US Coast Guard, and US Customs Service ships and aircraft; and coordinated bi-lateral training operations with host country law enforcement elements and US Army Special Forces.
He retired from the US Navy as a Commander on 1 September 2001 after 20 years of active duty and began working in the Transportation Security Administration on 23 September 2002 overseeing security operations at Westchester County Airport, and then later also at Stewart International Airport; and has since worked at LaGuardia Airport and is now working at John F Kennedy Airport.
He is an aviation enthusiast (licensed private pilot, qualified glider pilot and static line parachutist; and was a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol at the Hampton Roads Composite Squadron in 1986 during a shore tour of duty at COMNAVBASE Norfolk, Virginia while still on active duty in the US Navy.
Please come prepared with questions, and with your uniform and camera on.
