CMC Monica Kuhl.
Provided to the LVN
Naval Air Station Fallon’s new command master chief considers the Lahontan Valley home because of her previous assignments to the installation.
With Fallon being her final assignment, Monica J. Kuhl and her family have found the Oasis of Nevada to their liking. Kuhl, who grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, finds similarities between her hometown and Fallon which have sandwiched her 25-year career.
“I volunteered to come here. I enjoy Fallon,” she said. “I’ve come here with the squadrons on numerous times.”
Kuhl, who reported to Fallon on Oct. 30, said she enjoys the people, the community and small-town feel the area provides.
“That’s really what sold it to me … the community,” she added.
Not only is Fallon part of the western way of life but so, too, is Cheyenne, a state capital about the same size as Carson City with 65,000 residents.
After graduating from Cheyenne’s East High School almost 25 years ago, Kuhl enlisted in the Navy and has seen the world. At first, though, she saw the Navy as a way to serve both her country and receive an education.
“That was important to me, and the reason I joined,” she said of the educational opportunities.
Through the University of Maryland’s Global Campus, Kuhl earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a minor in journalism. She eventually earned a master’s degree in mass communications.
During her military career, Kuhl said the Navy has taken care of her by also providing medical and dental benefits and a steady, reliable paycheck. Travelling has also been part of Kuhl’s career.
“I’ve enjoyed it for the travel all over the world,” Kuhl said, listing more than 20 countries she’s visited.
For Kuhl and the other men and women who enlist, she said the sailors have the opportunity to take care of their country and families.
“We provide the freedoms for them,” she said.
Kuhl spent time in Iraq and then in Germany at a military hospital, where her section tracked the movement of injured Marines who were medically transported from Southwest Asia to a U.S. Army facility. Living in Europe allowed her to travel, and Kuhl said she loves the continent’s. On her bucket list is visiting London. She’s had the opportunity to travel to Japan, Dubai and Bahrain, and she also wants to visit Cuba, where the Navy has an installation at Guantanamo Bay.
Now, as the command master chief and top enlisted sailor for NAS Fallon, Kuhl said she’s here for the sailors. Kuhl said she wants to take care of the sailors and ensure they have everything they need to be successful in their jobs and training.
Although her assignment doesn’t include the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (TOP GUN), she works with the NAWDC’s command master chief when there’s a problem with meals or living quarter issues.
Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medal (four awards), Good Conduct Medal (seven awards), the Presidential Unit Citation and campaign and service awards.
When she’s at home, though, she enjoys the country life of the Lahontan Valley, and her family has raised chickens and turkeys. Kuhl said she was around animals when growing up in Wyoming. The Fallon weather is also to her liking and said it’s definitely not as cold as Cheyenne, especially during winter.
Not only is Kuhl committed to her assignment at NAS Fallon, but she’s excited to be part of the local community.
“One of my goals is to be involved,” she added.
THE KUHL FILE
• Completed basic and advanced training in 2000-1.
• Reported to her first duty station in Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Okinawa Japan in April 2001.
• Deployed to Iraq in 2003 and Germany in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Reported to 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California, in 2005 where she served as the Headquarters Battalion RP.
• Temporarily assigned to 9th Communication Battalion and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, where she deployed for the second time to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Reported in 2007 to Recruit Division Commander School at Great Lakes, Illinois. where she served as a recruit division commander.
• Reported to USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in San Diego in 2010, where she served as the leading petty officer of Religious Ministries Department
• Reported to USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) where she served as departmental leading chief petty officer for Religious Ministries Department and deployed in 2012.
• Reported to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., in 2014 and subsequently transferred to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-20 in October 2016.
• Graduated from the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy and the CMC/COB course in August 2016.
• Served with Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-147 at Naval Air Station Lemoore from May 2018 to May 2020.
• Arrived in Fallon in October 2024 to become the air station’s command master chief.