John Robinson received a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1981 from the United States Air Force Academy and was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy upon graduation.
A commissioned Naval Officer for 22 years, John served as an engineer on USS John Young (DD-973) and a deck officer on USS Missouri (BB-63) during reactivation at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. In 1987, John became an Engineering Duty Officer and received a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School. His following assignments provided significant experience working with maintenance organizations supporting US Navy surface ship repairs.
These assignments included; Ship Superintendent (Repair) and LHD Test and Trails Director at Supervisor of Ship Building, Conversion and Repair Pascagoula, Staff Engineer at Military Sealift Command Far East in Yokohama Japan, Force Type Desk and Force Maintenance Officer at Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific and Planning and Engineer Officer for Supervisor of Ship Building, Conversion and Repair San Diego.
In 2003, John retired from the Navy as a Commander and became a consultant providing support to organizations implementing lean manufacturing. In 2005 he returned to Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) as the Waterfront Chief Engineer. In 2010 he became the SWRMC Production Department Head where he led an 800 person department, making a positive impact on the waterfront supporting Intermediate Level repairs and improving the technical skills of military personnel returning to the fleet.
John became the Executive Director for Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in May 2017. As SWRMC’s senior civilian, John leads and directs daily business operations for a command comprised of more than 2,000 military and civilian personnel responsible for ship maintenance, modernization, and technical support to U.S. Navy Ships. John’s duties also include development and execution of SWRMC’s long term business strategies.