Neal Kusumoto commanded three ships before retiring as a captain. After his rousing tour on USS Vandegrift, he was put in charge of training all officers selected to command ships. He was in the Pentagon as the Deputy Executive Assistant for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during 9/11 and the start of the War on Terrorism.

Raised in Hawaii, he attended Iolani School and was named Hawaii Junior Citizen of the Year in 1974. Further education included US Naval Academy (BS), Naval Postgraduate School (MS), Naval War College (MA), and NATO Defense College. He is the President of the U.S. Alumni delegation. He recently retired as the Executive Director for Mine Warfare after forty-four years working for the Navy. Neal lives with his wife Linda in San Diego. They adopted Bella-moto from a shelter, but don’t expect her to live a rollicking, sea-tossed life like Jenna did.