Chief Navy Counselor Jess Rohrbach of Reading retired from the Navy after 21 years of service.
Rohrbach is a native of Berks County and graduated from Salem Christian High School in 1994. He joined the U.S. Navy Delayed Entry Program in August 1996 and reported to Recruit Training Command Great Lakes in November, 1996 for basic training.
This was followed by Equipment Operator (EO) “A” School in Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri.
In November 1997 he reported to Port Hueneme for assignment to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 as a member of Alpha Company, Projects Platoon. He was part of Operation Joint Forge, the NATO peace-keeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo Campaign. He was promoted to EO3 during this tour, attended paving operations and quarry operations schools becoming the Quarry Team drill supervisor until he separated from the Navy in November 2000.
He joined the Navy Reserve and served in Fresno until rejoining the active-duty component in August 2001. In September 2001, he was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1, Air Det Company, Gulfport Mississippi where he was forward deployed to Basilan Island, Philippines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in June 2002.
Upon returning to Gulfport, Missisisippi, he was promoted to EO2 and reassigned as a project crew leader, attached to Air Det Company for Operation Iraqi Freedom where he served in Balad, Baghdad, Ar-Ramadi and Fallujah in 2004.
Rohrbach was assigned to Navy Recruiting District Pittsburgh in August 2004 as a recruiter at Navy Recruiting Station Scranton, eventually taking over as the Recuiter-in-Charge in March of 2005. He converted to Navy Counselor (NC) in November 2006 and was promoted to NC1 serving as the RINC until April 2008.
In April 2008, he attended the Career Recruiter Academy (2186) in Pensacola, Florida. Afterward he reported to Navy Recruiting District Ohio and was assigned to Navy Recruiting Station Columbus North as the Leading Petty Officer until July 2011.
He was assigned to Navy Recruiting District Philadelphia in August 2011 where he was assigned to Navy Recruiting Stations Levittown and Huntington Valley until June 2014.
In July 2014, Rohrbach was assigned to Navy Recruiting District New York and was selected to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He served as an Enlisted Classifier at Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Brooklyn, New York.
Rohrbach’s personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (seven awards), Combat Action Ribbon, and various unit, campaign and service awards.
