Date: Sep 06, 2007

Hofstra Researcher-in-Residence Piped Ashore in Naval Retirement Ceremony

Dr. Phyllis Zagano served as a commander in public information offices throughout the United States and abroad

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Hofstra senior research associate-in-residence Phyllis Zagano was officially retired as a commander in the U. S. Navy recently in a tradition-rich ceremony at Point Lookout, Long Island.

Dr. Zagano’s three-decade Navy Reserve career began when she was commissioned at the Navy Recruiting Office in East Meadow on Dec. 6, 1976. She became a member of the New York Naval Militia in April 1978. According to the U.S. Navy, regulations require that the retiree request permission to “go ashore” for the last time. The Aug. 25 formal retirement ceremony included the presence of “sideboys,” who saluted as the boatswain’s mate piped.

Dr. Zagano attended Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station, Pensacola. She served as a Naval public affairs officer in postings in the United States and abroad, including Navy Offices of Information in New York, Boston and Los Angeles; the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif; the Naval War College, Newport, R.I.; North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium; Naval Station Guantanamo, Cuba; Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, Naples, Italy; Commander, U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Fla.; Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.;  U.S. Embassy, Rome, Italy;  and the United States Mission to the United Nations, New York. She taught at the Defense Information School, and served tours of active duty as a faculty member at the Naval Education and Training Center, San Diego, CA, and at Officer Candidate School, Newport, RI. Her final extended tour of active duty was as Director of Community Relations, International Naval Review 2000, in New York.

Dr. Zagano is an expert on the role of women in the Catholic Church and author of “Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church,” (Crossroad). She also writes a regular column for Religion News Service.

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