Commander Spencer Garrett received his commission upon graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science on 25 May 1988.
Following completion of the Surface Warfare Officer School- Division Officer Course, Commander Garrett reported to the USS IOWA (BB-61) in April 1989 homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. There he was assigned as Turret Officer of Gun Turret #1 until the explosion in Gun Turret #2 later that same month. After the explosion, he was reassigned as Turret Officer to Turret #2 to supervise the efforts to rebuild that turret and train its new crew. Following a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, the USS IOWA was scheduled for decommissioning and Commander Garrett volunteered for duty onboard the USS WISCONSIN (BB-64) as the Turret Officer of that battleship's Turret # 2 beginning in April 1990. In this position during a nine-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf, he served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and fired over 100 rounds of 16-inch gun shells at the enemy. All told, CDR Garrett fired over 300 rounds of 16-inch gun shells both in training and combat while serving onboard both battleships. Onboard the USS WISCONSIN, Commander Garrett received his Surface Warfare Officer's Pin and his designation as Officer-of the-Deck as well as a Navy Achievement Medal for his efforts in the war.
Following the decommissioning of the WISCONSIN, Commander Garrett reported to COMPHIBRON EIGHT in June 1991 as the Assistant Operations-Supporting Arms Officer. As a member of that staff, he made a deployment to the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas embarked onboard the USS IWO JIMA (LPH-2) in support of the United Nations relief efforts in Bosnia. He reported to shore duty at Naval Education and Training Center Newport, Rhode Island in August 1993 as the Base Training Officer where he also taught in the Officer Indoctrination School.
Released from active duty in April 1996, Commander Garrett affiliated with the Navy Reserve and was assigned to NR SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 in Austin Texas as the Engineering Department Head. In October 1998 he transferred to NR NCAGS NAVCENT Det D in New Orleans, Louisiana where Commander Garrett eventually served as Executive Officer and where he made two Annual Training trips to Bahrain, both before and after the attacks of 11 SEP 2001.
In October 2002, Commander Garrett was selected as Officer-in-Charge of NR CNF KOREA Det D in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as OIC of this unit for over three years until reporting to Allied Command Transformation Det 109 in Bessemer, Alabama in December 2005. In this unit he participated as a Public Information Officer in NATO Response Force's Exercise Steadfast Jaguar 06 in the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa and in NATO Exercise Steadfast Jaw 06 in London.
In April 2007, Commander Garrett reported to NR COMPHIBRON FOUR Det 409 located in Bessemer where he currently serves as the unit's Commanding Officer.
Commander Garrett's military decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal (2), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (3), Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (2), Kuwait Liberation Medal (2) and Navy Pistol Marksmanship-Expert.
In civilian life, upon leaving Active Duty Commander Garrett received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. He taught Business Administration at Tulane University and the University of Southern Mississippi for five years. He currently is the President and Publisher of Night Owl Publishing, Inc. which publishes over 800 domain names including MilitaryTravel.com and MilitaryTowns.com. He lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
As of 12 May 2008