Robison (DDG 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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Biography of Commander Dana P. French, Jr., U.S. Navy Commanding Officer, USS ROBISON QDDG-12l Commander Dana P. French, Jr., U.S. Navy, was born November 7, 1937 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The son of a U.S. Navy Captain Law Specialist, he attended schools in Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Virginia and in Heidelburg, Germany before graduating from high school in Newport, Rhode Island. Commander French enlisted in the Navy in June 1955, attending recruit training and the Naval Preparatory School at Bainbridge, Maryland. He entered the Naval Academy, was graduated and commissioned an Ensign in June 1961. He served first in USS COONTZ QDLG-9, as First Lieutenant and as Gunnery Assistant, making two deployments to the Western Pacific. He was ordered to USS WHIPPOORWILL QMSO-207i as Executive Officer in 1963, homeported in Sasebo, Japan. ln 1965 he became Commanding Officer, USS KOKA QATA-185j, at San Diego, California. He then became Aide and Flag Lieutenant to Commander, Western Sea Frontier, in San Francisco, California, where he served from 1966 to 1968. In 1968, Lieutenant French was ordered to Command River Assault Division 112, a riverine warfare unit in the Delta Region of South Vietnam, where he received two Bronze Star Medals with Combat V and the Purple Heart. Returning from Vietnam in late 1969, Lieutenant Commander French became Weapons Officer, USS LEAHY CDLG-16l, homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, making one deployment to the Mediterranean for which he received the Navy Achivement Medal. ln 1971, he attended and graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia. This was followed by duty as Executive Officer, USS COCHRANE QDDG-211 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He made one deployment to Vietnam for the last seven months of the war for which COCHRANE received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V. Lieutenant Commander French was then ordered to the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California for eighteen months where he graduated in June 1975 with a Master of Science Degree in Personnel Management. Upon graduation, he was ordered to Washington, D.C. to the Bureau of Naval Personnel where he served for three years in the Human Resource Management Division. There he became Project Manager for a new navywide program of training in leadership and management called LMT. Upon transfer Commander French was awarded the Meritorious Service medal for his work in designing and developing the Leadership Management and Training course. Commander French assumed command of USS ROBISON QDDG-125 on 18 December 1978 Commander French is married to the former Margery F. Moss of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and has two sons, David and Eric. gi . ' iafglfgsif ' 1-, I E . fl . . fix L I ui

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