Staff Spotlight: Kevin Peck

What motivated you to join the military? What branch did you serve and what was your role and rank?

It was almost genetically predisposed, I guess. With my grandfather serving in the Army Air Corps during WWII and my father in the USAF during the Vietnam era, I became the third generation to join the military. However, I wanted to do something different and challenging, so I volunteered for submarine duty. I joined the Navy as a Delayed Entry Program participant in early 1990, entered basic training that November, and was honorably discharged in May of 2000 as a Machinist Mate 2nd Class (Submarines)—MM2(SS) in Navy shorthand.

Is there a current/recent book or podcast you’re enjoying?

I listen to a lot of audio books and podcasts, mostly about cars, pop culture, politics, and DIY’ing. Most recently I’ve been addicted to a couple; something car centered called Rennthusiast and this new one, “Once, We Were Spacemen” which is hosted by Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk. A couple of my favorite human beings.

What kind of hobbies or activities do you pursue outside of work?

As my wife of 35 years will tell you, I have too many hobbies. I'm a huge DIY enthusiast and have remodeled every room of our house, some down to the studs. I support (and defend) our Cincinnati teams; Bearcats, Bengals and FC Cincinnati. Over the last couple of years, I've gone deep into 3D printing and now have two printers running constantly. I also love researching, reviewing, and reading about cars—a lot about cars. More recently, I've gotten into destructionist-style mixed media art and “splatter” art, which my grandniece lovingly calls "Uncle Kevin's Messy Art." But beyond all that, my real pleasure is spending time with my family—Jennifer, our adult children Nate and Jules (and their other halves), and our pups—whether we're at home or out on adventures somewhere.

Is there a fun or interesting fact you would like to share about yourself?

During a 1995 deployment to the Northern Atlantic/Arctic Circle region, our boat stayed submerged for 89 days without surfacing for air—literally. As one of the engineering crew, I was one of the select few responsible for keeping that air breathable: generating oxygen from de-ionized water and scrubbing out CO2, carbon monoxide, and whatever else decided to contaminate our tiny metal world, or the “people tank” as we lovingly called it. It was grueling, no question, but what I remember most isn't the technical challenge—it's the bond you forge with your crew when you're literally depending on each other to survive. That's something I'll never forget.