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Pentagon stint gives Bob Ewigleben the big picture

   Yes, there is a connection between Robert S. Ewigleben (AH’77) and the sports complex on the Ferris State campus. The facility is named for his father, Dr. Robert L. Ewigleben, Ferris State’s 12th president.
   And if you don’t know already, it’s pronounced “a-v-clay-ben.”
   After earning his degree at Ferris, the younger Ewigleben traded a comfortable career in the business world for a chance to see the world by becoming a naval intelligence officer. He has supported military operations in some of the world’s most conflicted countries: Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea.
   Ewigleben recently visited Ferris State on his way to his newest assignment—a stint at the Pentagon.

C&G: You saw action in support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. What were your responsibilities?

RE: I was the Intelligence Officer for the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group home-based in Yokosuka, Japan. I was in charge of intelligence operations for the entire carrier strike group, which includes the USS Kitty Hawk, the oldest active commissioned ship in the Navy, eight smaller ships and an embarked air wing. During that time frame we supported the toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now I’m en route to serve on the staff of the Director of Naval Intelligence in the Pentagon.
   For action in Afghanistan, they stripped the air wing off the Kitty Hawk and we embarked Special Forces. It was a unique operation, because typically the main focus of a carrier strike group is air strike operations by the air wing. So now you’re basically saying that’s not what you’re going to do—you’re going to have Special Forces with you who bring a lot of their own organic intelligence capability with them. We were the only carrier that did that as part of support for the war in Afghanistan.

C&G: That must have been challenging.

RE: It’s a challenge to integrate the intelligence support for these kind of operations, but I think we made some contributions, and it was rewarding to do cooperative planning and to be cut in on what they were doing. Once they realized the capability our intelligence team brought to the table, they were pleasantly surprised and it opened the door for greater cooperation. We returned from operations off Afghanistan just two days before Christmas in 2001. A little over year later we were ordered to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We were part of a three-carrier battle group that operated in the Persian Gulf running air strikes into Iraq. It turned out to be a pretty short war for the carriers. Once U.S. ground forces entered Baghdad, there wasn’t much we could do to provide support, especially once Baghdad was secure, so the carriers were ordered back home.

C&G: How long have you been with the Navy?

RE: I’ve been in the service 20 years. It’s hard on the family. We enjoy traveling, and yet it’s disruptive. We’ve spent 10 years out of the country. It comes with a price, moving every two to three years. Some people adapt to it, some don’t and get out. Fortunately, I have a very supportive and adaptive family. They have really enjoyed life overseas.
   We’re probably going to be in Washington, D.C., for at least two years now. After that, maybe we’ll go back to Europe or Asia.

C&G: Is your current position a big change for you?

RE: Most of my responsibility now involves looking at naval intelligence programs and capabilities, and where naval intelligence is at and where it needs to go. I’ll be getting a big picture, Washington, D.C., perspective.
   One of the key tasks is integrating joint forces better and improving inter-agency coordination. It will be a big challenge for many years to come. A part of the reason I got this new assignment is that they liked the fact that I’d just come off a two-year tour where I was exposed to the operational side of things. I bring a fresh set of eyes to the job having recently come from the fleet and seen it in action.

C&G: How did you decide on a military career?

RE: I studied Environmental Health when it was sort of a new program at Ferris. It was an up-and-coming area then, because of the expanding challenges of growing urban areas.
   After graduation I worked for American Natural Resources in Detroit. Since my wife was in school at Michigan we lived in Ann Arbor and I worked in Detroit for about five years. I didn’t join the Navy until I was almost 28.
   Going into the military was kind of a lark, actually. The Navy was the only service that welcomed me with open arms because of my age. The Marine Corps would have taken me, but I couldn’t choose my specialty. I would have gone in as a ground-pounder, a grunt. The Navy was the only branch that said, “We’ll make you an intelligence officer.”
   I like the water, had done a lot of sailing, so it was a natural fit. Also, I had done some traveling with my father when he was president at Ferris, so that probably whetted my appetite for overseas travel.

C&G: Where have you been stationed?

RE: I did a tour in England for three years, which my wife and I loved. We lived right in the heart of London. The Navy headquarters for Europe is right off of Hyde Park. If it wasn’t for the weather I would have really liked it.
   We went from there to Italy. At the time I was working for a four-star admiral in charge of both U.S. Naval forces in Europe and NATO forces in Southern Europe. He was very demanding, so there was a lot of work involved.
   Then we came back to the East Coast—the Norfolk, Va., Washington, D.C., area.
   The last four years I’ve been in Asia—two-years in South Korea, living right in the heart of Seoul, and two years in Japan. The time in Korea from a professional standpoint was very rewarding and fulfilling. The whole aspect of the political and military dynamics in that part of the world was very challenging. I was in charge of indications and warning intelligence for the U.S. Forces Korea Director of Intelligence (J2). We monitored and reported North Korean military activity and kept the J2, a 1-star Army general, apprised of any significant activity along the Demilitarized Zone. It was a fascinating job, being assigned to a joint command, predominantly Army, because there I was, a Navy Commander, running their current intelligence watch.

Ewigleben ran both outdoor track and cross-country during his undergraduate career at Ferris. (Photo from the 1977 Ferriscope)

C&G: So was it tough being the son of the president of Ferris?

RE: Surprisingly, when I went to school here, it was pretty easy. I sort of flew below the radar screen. I don’t think people knew the name if they just heard it pronounced. Occasionally a professor would ask me if I was related to the president. There was a certain amount of pressure to keep my nose clean, but I wasn’t the kind of kid to get into trouble, so it wasn’t a big issue.
   I did the normal things students do. I was on the cross-country and track teams. The Ferris cross-country team did well back then and we went to nationals every year I was here. I also worked delivering pizzas for Pizza King and graduated to working in the kitchen. Back then we’d get a lot of business after last call at the Alibi.

C&G: The campus has changed a lot since then.

RE: It’s beautiful. I was really impressed driving onto the campus today. With all my travels, I’ve kept track of Ferris mainly through the computer. Last year while I was on the Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf and the Bulldogs were in the hockey play-offs, I’d get Web links every day from my Dad to keep me updated.
   Of course, if they’d held the play-offs at Ewigleben Ice Arena, we would obviously have taken it all!