Commander Rick A. Escalante, USN
Executive Officer, NROTC Unit Florida A&M University
Email: ricardo.escalante@famu.edu
A native of Mesa, Arizona, Commander Escalante enlisted in the Navy in November of 1995 as part of the Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program. In December of 1997 Commander Escalante graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy upon graduation from Officer Candidate School. He continued flight training in Pensacola, Florida and received his Naval Flight Officer wings in May of 1999 at Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas.
Upon completion of the P-3 Orion FRS in Jacksonville, Florida, Commander Escalante reported to Patrol Squadron TEN (VP-10) in Brunswick, Maine. He served as the Command Managed Equal Opportunity Officer, Aviation Technician Branch Officer, Readiness Officer, NFO NATOPS Officer, Mission Commander, and Instructor Tactical Coordinator. His operational deployments include a split site deployment to Puerto Rico and Iceland, and a second split site deployment to Sigonella, Sicily and Souda Bay, Crete.
In March of 2003, Commander Escalante reported to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing FIVE (CPRW-5) in Brunswick, Maine as the Wing Readiness Officer and Weapons System Trainer Instructor. He culminated his tour at CPRW-5 as the Assistant Training Officer.
In June of 2006, he reported to the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72) in Everett, Washington for duty as a Catapult/Arresting Gear Officer (Shooter). Onboard CVN-72 he served as the Visual Landing Aids / Improved Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System (VLA/IFLOS) Branch Officer, V-5 Division Officer, V-2 Division Officer and “Top Cat”.
Following his tour on the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Commander Escalante reported to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing TEN (CPRW-10) in Whidbey Island, Washington where he served as the Current Operations Officer and ASW Exercise Planning Officer from March 2008 through August 2009. During his tenure with CPRW-10 he was responsible for the daily scheduling of all operational and training flights for four VP and two VQ squadrons, and coordinating with 3 submarine squadrons for ASW training opportunities.
Following refresher training at the FRS, Commander Escalante reported in Feb of 2010 to Patrol Squadron EIGHT (VP-8) for Department Head duty, where he served as the Administration, Training, and ultimately the Operations Officer.
After a very successful Department Head tour, Commander Escalante reported to the Command and General Staff College located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he complete Joint Professional Military Education Phase One (JPME 1) while simultaneously earning a Master of Science in Administration (MSA) degree from Central Michigan University.
Commander Escalante reported to NORAD and USNORTHCOM in January of 2013 where he served as a Maritime Domain Chief on the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center (N2C2) watch floor. He additionally served as the Chief Instructor for the Maritime Domain Qualification Training course led by the J73.
In July of 2016, Commander Escalante reported for duty onboard USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) as the Combat Direction Center Officer where he was responsible for leading a team of over 100 Officers, Chief Petty Officers, and Enlisted Sailors engaged in the defense of a capitol warship and her crew of nearly 6,000 personnel.
Commander Escalante returned to NORAD and USNORTHCOM in July of 2018 where he served as the Strategic Assessments Branch Chief in the J81 division.
After a very successful second tour in Colorado Springs, Commander Escalante reported to NROTC Florida A&M where he currently serves as the Executive Officer. NROTC Florida A&M serves students from its host school as well as Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College.
Commander Escalante has three children, Noah (22), Sebastian (20) and Alana (18).
