Tomi and I established the CAPT Jackson Roeske and CAPT Tomi Roeske Scholarship in 2017 to continue our long-standing support of, and dedication to, Dolphin Scholarship Foundation (DSF.) My introduction to DSF began early, during my first tour on submarines as a Junior Officer on the USS SHARK (SSN 591) in New London, CT. Attending the Submarine Officers’ Wives Club (SOWC) auctions with the wardroom, I became aware of DSF, the recipient of the auction proceeds. I also began donating through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), with the majority of my donations earmarked for DSF and the remainder earmarked for other charities, such as World Wildlife Fund and Guide Dogs. On my first shore duty, as a Submarine Officer Detailer at Naval Military Personnel Command in Arlington, VA, I met Tomi, who was a Navy Lieutenant working for the legendary Admiral Rickover as the Administrative Officer at Naval Reactors, the headquarters of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Her primary duty was preparing for, and working with, the interview process for acceptance to submarine duty. This was her introduction to the Submarine Force.
We married in 1982 and began a pattern of New London to Norfolk, New London to Norfolk assignments. While I was new construction Engineer on the USS AUGUSTA (SSN 710), Tomi served her Department Head tour at Naval Submarine School. In Norfolk, I was assigned to the Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination (ORSE) Board, and Tomi was a joint exercise planner at U.S. Atlantic Command, working alongside Army, Air Force, and Marines. Back to New London for my Executive Officer tour on the USS ALEXANDER HAMILTON (SSBN 617) (BLUE) while Tomi served as Executive Officer of the Personnel Support Activity. Throughout these tours, we participated in SOWC auctions and continued to support DSF.
While in New London, Tomi transferred from active duty to the Naval Reserve, allowing her the opportunity to continue her career and be home with our young sons while I deployed. We later came back to Norfolk for my command tour on the USS SUNFISH (SSN 649). Tomi served a second XO tour at Naval Reserve Training Command, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and later served as CO, Naval Reserve Personnel Mobilization Team 3106. She retired from the Naval Reserve on February 1, 2000.
Throughout our time in New London and Norfolk, we attended the auctions to support DSF. After Tomi retired from active duty in 1990, she began working for DSF in 1992, serving as Scholarship Administrator until 2008. During her tenure, the Foundation grew from 100 scholars each receiving $1,500.00 per year to 137 scholars receiving annual grants of $3,400.00. As Scholarship Administrator, Tomi oversaw the application process and the selection of 584 Dolphin Scholars, at that time more than half of the 1000 scholars selected since DSF began in 1960.
I retired in October 2006, following 30 years of submarine service, but continued to work in support of the Submarine Force as a civilian contractor until 2021. After many years in Norfolk, we now reside in the Richmond, VA, area, as do our two adult sons and their families. We were very fortunate to have our younger son, Eric, now a Hampden-Sydney College alumnus, selected as a Dolphin Scholar, and realized we wanted to give something back to DSF and the Submarine community. Endowing a Scholarship seemed like the perfect way to do that. Having made insurance policy investments early in our careers, we were able to convert those policies into a new policy that, upon our deaths, will fund a scholarship at DSF and one at UVA, in honor of our older son, Tom, who graduated in 2006.