A lifetime of service: Ossie Love reflects on more than 50 years of dedication to the Navy and nation

CORONADO, Calif. — For more than five decades, Ossie Love has dedicated his life to serving his country. From his early days as a Navy boatswain’s mate during the Vietnam War era to his current role as a warehouse supervisor at NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center San Diego, Love’s career reflects a lifelong commitment to service, perseverance and the belief that every day presents an opportunity to make a difference.

Love, who supervises warehouse operations for the Advanced Traceability and Control (ATAC) program in Coronado, has accumulated more than 50 years of combined military and federal civilian service, including 24 years with ATAC.

His team supports a global logistics network that processes military assets for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and international partners.

But Love’s commitment to public service began long before he joined the Navy.

Growing up in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Love remembers watching President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 1961. Kennedy’s famous call to public service profoundly influenced the young boy watching television.

“When he spoke, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,’ somewhere that resonated with me,” Love recalled. “I knew then and there I was gonna be a federal employee.”

Although he did not fully understand what federal employment meant at the time, the conviction stayed with him.

Love enlisted in the Navy as a young man, serving eight years aboard USS Puget Sound (AD-38) and USS Cleveland (LPD-7). After completing his military service in 1982, he decided to remain in San Diego rather than return to South Carolina.

Following a brief break in federal service, Love began his civilian career at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in La Jolla before transitioning to the Navy supply system.

Over the following decades, he worked in quality assurance, warehousing and other logistics-related positions. He spent 18 years at the former Naval Supply Center along San Diego’s downtown waterfront before transferring to ATAC.

His extensive experience has provided a firsthand perspective on the evolution of Navy logistics and the importance of maintaining operational readiness.

Yet, for Love, the most meaningful part of his career has never been a particular position or accomplishment.

“I love what I do,” he said. “It gets stressful sometimes. I mean, just like any other job.”

That outlook, he explained, comes from a family deeply rooted in service to others.

Love credits his mother and grandmother with instilling the values that have guided him throughout his life. His grandmother, a midwife,” frequently traveled throughout the Southeast to deliver babies, sometimes remaining away from home for weeks.

“My mother would help everybody. My grandmother would help everybody,” Love recalled. “To me, it’s just what I was raised with.”

He also credits former supervisor Patricia “Pat” Hartfield, whose guidance and candid advice helped shape his professional career.

“For me surviving as a federal employee for as long as I have, I’ll credit that to Trish,” he said.

Now, with more than half a century of service behind him, Love continues to approach each workday with gratitude and purpose.

“I really do wake up every day saying, ‘Thank God, I woke up today,’” he said. “Let me just go to work and try to get something done today better than yesterday.”

Asked what advice he would offer younger Sailors and federal employees considering their futures, Love emphasized the importance of patience, listening and learning from those who came before them.

“Open your ears. Listen to what’s trying to be passed to you. Don’t rush to judgment,” he said. “People come and go. Jobs come and go. But experience being passed to you is something that you should be trying to retain for tomorrow.”

For Love, the principles that first inspired him as a child in South Carolina remain as relevant today as they were more than six decades ago.

“Just keep moving forward.”

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