User:Rchonna/sandbox

Reuben D. Chonna

Mr. Reuben D. Chonna was raised in Miami, FL. He went to La Salle High School, Miami, FL; and graduated in 1984. He is the second of four children from a Colombian-Italian descendent family.

Background

Reuben D. Chonna grew up in Miami and graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, later he earned a Master of Science in Structures. His thirst for knowledge took him to continue pursuing his education and earned an MBA with emphasis in Finance.

Professional career

Reuben Chonna joined Parsons Brinkerhoff as a Design Project Engineer where he worked in the structural department. Chonna left PB to join the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991and He served a three year tour in Camp Lejeune, NC and one year in Okinawa, Japan with GSM Company. In 1995 Reuben left the US Marines and joined Turner Construction in South Florida while earning his M.S. in Building Construction from the University of Florida in 1996. His expertise in high-rise construction began to grow and in 1999 he became a Senior Project Manager. He focused all his engineering knowledge into the high-rise industry and that perseverance pushed him to the top in construction management. While gaining experience in construction he joined the Seabees after 9-11, becoming a Civil Engineer Officer in the United States Navy Reserves in 2001. He continued with his studies and earned a doctoral degree in civil engineering from the University of Miami in 2004. Later he was called to deploy to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom II in 2004; where he was assigned as the Company Officer for Headquaters. Upon arrival to Bagdad he was sent to Al-Fallujah where he worked as the Liaison Officer for NMCB14. Towards the end of his tour he was assigned as the Ops Officer for Det Al-Asad. He earned then the Seabee Combat Warfare device for Officers. Upon his return to the United States, he came back to Miami, and continued his line of work in the industry he loves and joined Turnberry Construction, where he became the Director of Construction until June 2008. Reuben Chonna began his first tour with the Seabees, serving as a company commander, assistant operations officer and detachment officer in charge with Naval Construction Battalion Fourteen, homeported in Jacksonville, Florida. He then transferred to Washington, D.C., serving in the Washington Navy Yard as the Assistant Public Works Officer (APWO). From there he was transferred to Bethesda, MD to serve as the Senior Construction Project Manager and Planning Officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Headquarters. In July, 2012 Reuben Chonna was moved back to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was assigned as the Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, in Port Au Prince, Haiti, and then upon his return to NAS JAX he worked as the Energy Manager and Production Facility Officer. He stayed in the NAS Jax Area working for Blount Island Command to serve as the Naval Support Management Branch Head Officer. In September 2013, he was sent to the Pacific in order to take control and administer the ships assigned to the Military Prepositioning Force. He was the OIC for the MPF in Hawaii. Later deployed to Singapore and Diego Garcia in October 2013 and January 2014.