Commanding a nuclear submarine doesn’t afford Commander Steven Lawrence, a Bridgeport native, much time to think about the massive amounts of ocean water separating him from the “outside” world.

We keep very busy. There is not much spare time to think about the isolation or be bored,” Lawrence said. “I serve with some of the finest men our country has to offer.  So in my free time I enjoy spending time with them playing games like cribbage and spades or watching movies.”

Last September the 39-year-old Bridgeport native became the Commanding Officer of the USS Oklahoma City, the culmination of a 21-year-career in the Navy he said was inspired by his dad, Joseph Lawrence, Chief of Police, Plymouth Township, writes Gary Puleo in The Times Herald.

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“I joined the Navy in 1997 after I was appointed to go to the Naval Academy,” Lawrence said. “My father inspired me to join since he was in the Navy and his father was also in the Navy.  My brother continued the tradition and enlisted in the Marines two years later.”

Receiving his commission in May, 2001, following completion of a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis Md., Lawrence completed several strategic deterrent patrols while serving as the Main Propulsion Assistant, the Electrical Officer and the Tactical Systems Officer. Lawrence then served on the Staff of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon as an Operations Officer for the Defense Liaison Division.

As his career path kept putting forth one milestone after another, Lawrence’s memories as a newspaper delivery boy were never far from his mind.

“I was a paperboy for The Times Herald from the age of 10 through 13.  It was my first real job and taught me my first real lessons in responsibility and organization,” Lawrence recalled “I remember I would time myself to see how fast I could finish it every day to try to set my personal record.  I would sprint from my house to the pickup point, grab the bundle of newspapers and fold them as I ran the route making sure to get them on the customer’s door mat.  The hard part was when it rained or snowed, it would slow me down a lot since I had to bag all of the papers.  Most of all I liked collection day where I would get my money so I could go buy baseball cards from 2 Js Baseball Card Shop on Fourth Street in Bridgeport. Sadly, it’s no longer there.”

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