Rear admiral
Pacific Fleet fleet maintenance officer Capt. Brian Antonio was promoted to rear admiral in a ceremony aboard the USS Missouri Memorial on May 31.
Antonio, a Bowie, Md. native and formerly of Minersville, assigned to Pacific Fleet headquarters, joins the flag ranks that make up less than one percent of the Navy's commissioned officers.
"When I found out I had been selected for promotion, I felt incredibly honored to be given the opportunity to continue serving our great Navy," he said.
Antonio graduated in 1983 from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., where he earned a bachelor's degree in naval architecture. A son of a career sailor, he wanted to join the Navy from a young age.
Antonio earned his surface warfare qualification while assigned aboard USS Peterson (DD 969) as a junior officer. He also served as a project superintendent for the Baseline Advanced Industrial Management Program at Norfolk Naval Shipyard; deputy acquisition program manager for the Landing Platform Dock 17 Class Program; ship design manager for the next-generation, Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier; and chief of staff to the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for ships.
Antonio is headed to Washington, D.C., for assignment as the program executive officer for littoral combat ships.
He is a son of former Minersville residents Bob and Gloria Shevokis Antonio, and a grandson of Al and Julia Antonio and Stan and Frances Shevokis.
Army retirement
Lt. Col. Stephen A. Stro-ble formally announced his retirement from the Army after 23 years of service.
A 1985 graduate of the Shenandoah Valley High School, he attended Penn State University where he majored in business logistics and business law. After college, he enlisted in the military and was selected to attend military school specializing in Russian linguistics. He later attended Officers' Candidate School and was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon completion.
Throughout his career, Stroble served several deployments throughout Europe, the Middle East and bases throughout the United States. His exceptional work ethic and level of performance made him an outstanding candidate to serve as a member of the Intelligence Agency, where he helped formulate our military's operational planning throughout the Middle East. Prior to his retirement, Stroble's career culminated with a 3 1/2-year assignment as a member of the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Stroble's military record consists of the Army Good Conduct Medal, five Army Achievement awards, six Army Commendation Medals, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Crew Member Badge, Army Parachute Badge and German Jump Wings. Most impressive was the Meritorious Service Award that he received during his first deployment in Iraq in 2007, the Bronze Star he received during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2009, the Defensive Meritorious Service Medal for a later deployment in Afghanistan and the Legion of Merit Award that acknowledged a career of a soldier who served four combat tours and spent 43 months in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, where he influenced the strategy and operational policy and tactical operations used by our military.
The Shenandoah Valley School District acknowledged Stroble by having him enshrined in the District's Wall of Fame. He is a son of Stewart and Phyllis Stroble, Shenandoah, and the father of two girls, Rebecca and Lauren.