Rear Admiral Mark Sucato

Commander, Navy Region Northwest

Rear Adm. Mark Sucato graduated with honors from the United States Naval Academy in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering. He holds master’s degrees in International Relations from Salve Regina University and Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. Additionally, he is a Harvard University Kennedy School senior executive fellow.

Captain Kevin Pickard

Chief of Staff

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Captain Kevin “Kepper” Pickard Jr. graduated in 1996 from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in English (with Merit). Following flight training, he was designated a naval aviator in April 1998. In 2006, he was one of seven officers selected into the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Planning Program where he subsequently attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government earning a master’s degree in Political Science from MIT in 2007. In 2021, he completed Joint Professional Military Education II from the National Defense University’s Joint Forces Staff College, Joint and Combined Warfighting School.

Master Chief Benjamin Rushing

Command Master Chief, Navy Region Northwest

Master Chief Benjamin D. Rushing, a native of Iowa, entered the Navy in June 1993 and attended basic training at Recruit Training Command in Orlando, Florida. Upon completion of basic training, he attended Nuclear Field “A” school and the Navy’s Nuclear Power School also in Orlando. Final nuclear power prototype training was conducted on the moored training ship 635 located in Charleston, South Carolina, and he was designated a nuclear trained Electrician’s Mate.