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When Capt. Jim Settele joined the Navy, he was 17 years old. He didn’t even know the Navy flew airplanes. Today, he sits in his office as the commanding officer of the Navy ROTC unit for the University of Maine and Maine Maritime Academy.
Settele has held the position since 2006. This summer he will be leaving it behind. He is retiring after 27 years as a naval officer.
Settele looks comfortable in his flight suit, calmly sipping his 8 a.m. coffee while he reflects on his career. As required of Navy personnel, his face is cleanshaven, and his hair is trimmed neatly above his ears. Despite his meticulous appearance, Settele admits to having a fun side.
“People have this image of military men and women,” he says. “It’s fun to bust the stereotype. We wear a uniform, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little bit of fun.”
Tyler Garrett, a Navy ROTC member, shares his experience of Settele’s definition of fun.
“We were playing football,” Garrett says, smiling as he remembers. “Capt. Settele turned it into a rugby match and took down eight of us at once.”
“I can be intense at times,” Settele says, cradling the coffee cup between his hands. “But working with the different faculty institutions here has provided me the opportunity to take the edge off. The pressure to make snap decisions isn’t here.”
He takes another sip of his java before adding with a laugh, “I got my mojo back.”
At UMaine, Settele may not be directing airplanes to land safely on large aircraft carriers, but he is now preparing young men and women for service. He also teaches a leadership and ethics course.
“He always encourages us to be open-minded about options at any given moment,” says Matt Rautio, a student in Settele’s ethics class. “He has been approachable and willing to give advice.”
“I’m sad that he’s retiring,” Garrett says. “I’ve been with him since he came to the unit three years ago. He has made us believe that being an officer will be the coolest job ever.”
‘Cool’ might be an understatement in Settele’s case. After graduating as an officer from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1982, Settele continued on to naval flight officer training in Pensacola, Fla. He has served on various ships, including the USS Midway and the USS Carl Vinson. He was also on board for the maiden voyage of the USS Harry S. Truman.
Settele has traveled extensively, from the Pentagon to Italy, England and Japan. He has called several of these places home for short periods of time.
While he was in Washington, D.C., Settele was the placement officer for aviation communities before serving as the military assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2001. He spent time in Saudi Arabia as the liaison between Navy battle groups and Coalition Air Forces. Settele has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours and more than 600 carrier-arrested landings.
“I’ve had incredible opportunities,” Settele says. “If you’ve got the chance to go travel and experience another culture, you’ve got to go.”
It hasn’t always been easy to balance a Navy lifestyle with a family.
“I got lucky,” Settele says. “I’ve got three great girls, and my wife Alison is awesome. When I was working under the Secretary of Defense, I wouldn’t see my house in the light of day. My hours were so long. I turned down the rank of admiral for my family, and I don’t regret it for a second.”
Now Settele and his family are permanent members of a community and reside in Holden.
“We all love to ski,” Settele says. “We’ve tried snowshoeing and sledding. People don’t know how we live in the cold.”
He shakes his head, eyes twinkling, “If you never went outside when it was cold in Maine, you’d never go outside at all. I go out as long as it’s not 20 below.”
Being involved permanently with a community is a luxury that retirement will bring for Settele.
“For the first time in 26 years, I’m not packing, and it’s nice,” he says.
Even though Settele is leaving the Navy ROTC unit this summer, he still has an interest in being involved with the UMaine community.
“I love working with the age group here,” he says as he finishes off the last of his coffee.
As he prepares to leave the office to teach his leadership class, Settele reveals the first thing he’ll do upon retiring.
“I’m growing a goatee,” he says.
He zips up his brown bomber jacket over his fight suit and marches out the door into the cold Maine climate he now calls home.
