Donald Grote Iselin (September 22, 1922 â March 9, 2012) was a United States Navy rear admiral. He served as the 31st commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command from 1977 to 1981.
Donald G. Iselin was born on September 5, 1922, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Harry and Rose (nee: Grote) Iselin. He had 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. He attended St. CatherineâÂÂs High School, graduating with the class of 1940.
After graduating high school, he attended Marquette University in the ROTC program. In 1942, he was chosen for appointment into the United States Naval Academy after he achieved the third highest score nationally among all ROTC cadets on the Naval exam. He graduated from Annapolis at the top of his class in 1945.
He graduated with a bachelorâÂÂs degree in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in January 1948 and earned his masterâÂÂs degree in civil engineering in September of that same year. In 1971, he graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
In 1951, he was assigned his first major construction project manager, to build launch facilities at the U.S. Naval Air Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, CA. In 1953, he was assigned to the shipyards at Pearl Harbor, HI to the public works department.
In 1954, at the request of VADM Hyman Rickover, he was transferred, on loan, to the Atomic Energy Commission in Pittsburgh to help design and construct the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the first of its kind.
One of IselinâÂÂs most significant assignments was the 6 months he spent in Vietnam where he developed a new construction management system called âÂÂLevel of Effort,â which improved project timelines.
He was promoted to Rear Admiral in March 1972 and assumed duties as the Commander of the Pacific Division, Naval Construction Battalions, Pacific Fleet.
In May 1977, he assumed duties as the 31st Commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and Chief of Civil Engineers until his retirement in 1981, after 38 years in the Navy.
Admiral Iselin married his high school sweetheart, Jacqueline Mary Myers, in 1945 and had 4 childeren. They were married 63 years before her death in 2008. After retiring from the Navy in 1981, he joined the Raymond Kaiser Engineering as a group vice-president for 5 years. After retiring a second time, he worked as an independent contractor and construction consultant. He died on March 9, 2012, in Santa Barbara, CA.