Rear Admiral (Upper Half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...

Wayne "Greg" Shear Jr. is a former Chief of Civil Engineers for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He previously served as Deputy Commander for Operations, Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

Biography

Shear assumed command of Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, D.C., and became Chief of Civil Engineers on October 27, 2006. He served in this capacity until he retired in May 2010. Previously, he served as the Director, Ashore Readiness Division (N46) Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and as Deputy Commander, Navy Installations Command. Shear graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1979 with a degree in

Naval Architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

and was commissioned an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

Civil Engineer Corps The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsib ...

. In 1984 he received a Master of Science in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. He also holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

. Shear's first assignment was to the Public Works Department,

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It provided a weapons and ammunition storage and loading facility for ships of the United S ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He then served as Public Works Officer, Naval Hospital Beaufort,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

After graduate school in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, he was assigned as Aide to the Commander,

Naval Facilities Engineering Command The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) is the United States Navy's engineering systems command, providing the Navy and United States Marine Corps with facilities and expeditionary expertise. NAVFAC is headquartered at the Washi ...

. In 1985, Shear joined Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 where he served as Charlie Company Commander and Officer in Charge, Detail Subic Bay. He then served at the Civil Engineer Corps Officer School as an instructor in the Facilities Management Division. In 1989 he was assigned as Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Puerto Rico Area. In 1993 he graduated with distinction from the College of Naval Command and Staff in Newport, Rhode Island, and was assigned to U.S. Strategic Command at

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, as Chief, Engineering Branch. Shear commanded NMCB 1 from 1996 to 1998. NMCB 1 received the Atlantic Fleet "Best of Type" and the Peltier Award in FY-97. Shear subsequently served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

at Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Southern Division in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, and the Commander, 30th Naval Construction Regiment,

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the ...

and Vice Commander, Third Naval Construction Brigade. While with the

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

, Shear served on a temporary assignment as Commander, U.S. Support Group,

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, reporting to

U.S. Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its incept ...

. In his following assignment he served as Deputy Commander for Operations, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. Shear is a Seabee Combat Warfare Officer, a registered

professional engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...

in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Navy Acquisition Professional Community, and a member of the

Society of American Military Engineers The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) unites public and private sector individuals and organizations from across the architecture, engineering, construction, environmental, facility management, contracting and acquisition fields and ...

. Shear is currently spending his retirement as a professor at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington. He teaches project and construction management courses and is known for his merciful mentoring. He stands as a valued asset at the Virginia Military Institute. "Ol' Greg" strives for excellent in each of his classes and maintains an Open Door Policy. Cadets trust him.

Awards and decorations

Shears' awards include:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shear, Wayne Living people Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni 1957 births Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)