Former Navy civilian backs Rochford in Florida primary

A former top civilian executive at the Navy is endorsing retired Capt. R.A. “Rocky” Rochford in Florida’s 14th Congressional District days before the Aug. 18 Republican primary. The campaign is leaning on Rochford’s military record, which it says shows leadership in major commands, a large-scale Lebanon evacuation and no adverse findings.

Why it matters: - Mark Honecker, the Navy’s former top career civilian executive, is backing Rochford as early voting is underway in Hillsborough County and Election Day approaches on Tuesday, Aug. 18. - The endorsement is meant to frame Rochford as a candidate with tested crisis-management and leadership experience in a competitive Republican primary.

What happened: - A newly released analysis, “The Operator's Record,” says retired U.S. Navy Capt. R.A. “Rocky” Rochford oversaw more than $300 billion in American military assets during a 33-year career. - The campaign says the analysis was released four days before Florida’s Aug. 18 Republican primary in the 14th Congressional District. - Honecker endorsed Rochford and described him as someone who can “build relationships and drive the right solution” across the fleets, Pentagon leadership and Capitol Hill. - Rochford said Washington is “broken” in the same ways he encountered in the Navy and pointed to his record fixing damaged or struggling organizations.

The details: - Honecker retired as an SES-3, the highest career civilian rank in the Navy, and served as Executive Director and Chief of Staff of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. - The analysis says Rochford served in 16 commands without a single adverse finding on record. - The document says Rochford took command of Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron THREE in Guam in 2014, when 13 vessels were on the Pentagon’s disestablishment list. - Rochford redirected unused berths on the ships toward U.S. 7th Fleet partner-nation training missions, a plan that required agreement from four commands and nearly six months of negotiation. - Squadron utilization increased ten-fold, and MPSRON-3 has not appeared on a disestablishment list since 2015. - In 2006, Rochford served as Crisis Action Team chief at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain and coordinated the evacuation of 15,008 American citizens from Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. - The evacuation was the largest U.S. non-combatant evacuation operation since Saigon, according to the analysis. - Rochford’s awards include four Legions of Merit from four separate chains of command, a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals and four Joint Service Commendation Medals. - Rochford earned a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College as an Arleigh Burke Fellow and VADM Samuel L. Gravely Scholar. - He completed the Congressional Operations Seminar at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute in 2004. - From 2011 to 2014, Rochford served as U.S. Fleet Forces Command’s liaison to the Pentagon and coordinated briefings for staff of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. - The campaign says Rochford drafted 41 pieces of legislation and four position papers, including 10-bill Children’s Bill of Rights and Seniors’ Bill of Rights packages, without campaign staff or outside consultants. - Certified election returns show Rochford received 145,643 votes in his 2024 congressional campaign. - The next-highest vote total in the current primary field is 58,130. - One candidate in the race has never appeared on a ballot. - The campaign says the full analysis is available at More information.

Between the lines: - The endorsement and the report are designed to turn Rochford’s Navy résumé into the central case for his candidacy. - The campaign is emphasizing measurable outcomes, command experience and crisis response over traditional campaign biography. - The vote totals suggest Rochford enters the race with a built-in base of prior support.

What's next: - Hillsborough County early voting continues ahead of the Aug. 18 Republican primary. - The campaign is pushing the analysis and endorsement as the final argument to voters before Election Day. - Rochford’s full campaign materials remain online at Rocky4Congress.com.