United States Department of the Navy – Chief Rick Stone & Family Charitable Foundation

In November 2019, Rick Stone accepted an appointment to serve as the Chief, Naval Historian in the Navy History and Heritage Command (NHHC), History and Archives Division, at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

“In over four decades of public service, I have been fortunate to be a member of progressive organizations that have had the resources to expose me to many thousands of hours of formal leadership and management training, as well as many years of toil in the arena of trial and error. What I have found to be invariably successful is a team atmosphere driven by mutual concern, trust and respect. I hope to contribute to your team with this theme as my guiding philosophy. If I have had any success in my own profession it can be attributed to the great men and women with whom I have had the honor to serve. Success is always measured by the ability to make any organization just a little bit better that when you first joined. I am confident we will be successful together”, said Chief Stone at the time of his appointment.

Falling under the Office of the Chief of Naval Operation, NHHC is a U.S. Navy command charged with managing the official history programs of the United States Navy, fulfilling its mission to strengthen the Navy’s effectiveness by preserving, analyzing, and interpreting the service’s hard-earned experience. A professional staff of historians, archivists, librarians, museum specialists, and naval personnel carries out historical activities. In the History and Archives Division at NHHC, Chief Stone was appointed as the Chief of the Histories Branch where he joined a professional staff of Naval Historians who support the Fleet, advise Navy leadership, and the serve the American public.

Comprising a total maximum strength of 31, including Naval Historians, contract Historians, and Supervisory Historians; this group of highly proficient researchers, academic professionals, and analysts were collectively known as “The Best of the Best” among the government’s historical scholars.

Chief Stone performed as the Histories Branch Chief at NHHC until January 2021 and, in addition to his managerial and executive duties, successfully lead his team through the Corona virus pandemic of 2020 by utilizing unprecedented maximization of telework assignments and crisis management techniques.

Chief Stone was a recipient of the Superior Civilian Service Award for his service at NHHC, the highest honorary award the Chief of Naval Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps may bestow on a civilian employee in the Department of the Navy.