A 1988 Kingfisher High School graduate who has risen through the ranks to become one of the U.S. Navy’s top noncomissioned officers has quite a story.

And Fleet Master Chief Delbert Terrell Jr. will be sharing that story with not only the audience at the annual KHS Veterans Day assembly at 11 a.m. Friday, but also with U.S. history classes prior to that.

Dr. A.J. Johnson, longtime KHS teacher and veteran, provided this perspective about Terrell’s rank: “There are about 350,000 people in the U.S. Navy. Of them, there are five who rank at the top of the noncommissioned officers,” he said.

“One who is the very top as the master chief petty officer of the Navy and then beneath that job are four fleet master chief petty officers, of which one is Delbert Terrell.

“I don’t know of any person from Kingfisher who has achieved this high NCO status in the U.S. Navy or any other branch of the Armed Forces.”

Terrell started his 33-yearand- counting Naval career as a raw recruit in 1989.

After completing Recruit Training Command in San Diego, Calif., he reported to Construction Electrician “A” School in Port Hueneme, Calif.

From there, he was assigned to Construction Battalion Unit 422 at Naval Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C.

Terrell was next selected for the Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) Program and attended the Prime Power Production Specialist Course at Fort Belvior, Va. before transfering to Naval Energy and Environmental Support Activity back at Port Hueneme.

He was selected to serve at the White House Communication Agency from 1995-99, to provide electrical infrastructure for uninterrupted communications throughout the world for the President, the Secret Service and White House staff.

Terrell was next assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Batallion 4 and served as a convoy commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He returned to Iraq for a second tour based out of Camp Fallujah and Forward Operating Base Kalsu.

Terrell was next assigned to the MUSE Division at Port Hueneme, where his deployments included supporting recovery and restoration efforts following Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires and another overseas deployment to Djibouti, Africa.

In 2009, Terrell was selected for the rank of command master chief and completed tours at the Naval Construction Training Center and Naval Mobile Construction Batallion 5 before serving as commander of Naval Activities Spain.

From 2016-17, Terrell served as deputy director of the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy and then served as the program’s 19th director for the next two years before being named the 18th Force Master Chief of the Seebees/NAVFAC.

Through the years, he’s earned more than a dozen commendations and meritorious service medals and awards.

Terrell also holds a bachelor of science degree in management from National Louis University and a master’s degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma.

Assembly Details

Kingfisher grades 7-12 will attend this year’s Veterans Day assembly, which begins at 11 a.m. at the All-Purpose Building and is also open to the public.

KHS band, choir, Boys and Girls State delegates and student council representatives will participate in the assembly, which includes patriotic music and readings prior to Terrell’s speech.

Following closing remarks by Student Council President Allison Themer, the assembly ends with a traditional bugle rendition of “Taps,” after which the audience will exit in silence and veterans and their families will be invited to a complimentary luncheon (see box on Page 1).