Adm. Samuel Paparo, standing at right, was the keynote speaker at this month’s Knights of Columbus annual banquet. Also in attendance from Council 18025 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam were, seated from left: Claribel Rodriguez, Deputy Grand Knight Luis Rodriguez, Father Rheo Ofalsa, Welhelmina Maple and Maureen Paparo; standing from left: Grand Knight Mark Berthelotte, Allyssa Berthelotte, Jocelyn Guzman, District Deputy 3 Patrick Guzman, Faithful Navigator Paul Maple and Paparo. (Courtesy Paul Maple)
Adm. Samuel Paparo, the new commander in the Pacific Theater, is a Knight of Columbus
By Jennifer Rector
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Not only does the new commander for the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command oversee military strategy across the world’s largest strategic area of operations — known as the Pacific Theater — as well as nearly 400,000 service members, he also lives a life of faith as a Knight of Columbus.
Adm. Samuel Paparo is a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 18025 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. He joined the Knights in February 2005.
“My then-pastor Msgr. Francis Walsh looked me hard in the eye and asked — that was all it took. Sometimes we all need some assertive leadership,” Paparo said in an interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
As a highly decorated and successful Navy officer, Paparo boasts a long list of accomplishments.
He is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOPGUN, has flown more than 6,000 hours in various fighter and tactical aircraft and has made 1,100 carrier landings.
He graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and was commissioned in 1987. He later earned one master’s degree in international studies from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and a second from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
On May 3, Paparo officially assumed his new role as USINDOPACOM commander during a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, replacing Adm. John Aquilino.
The attendees included top U.S. and international officials, including Lloyd Austin, U.S. secretary of defense; Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and ambassadors from nations including Singapore and India.
Also at the ceremony, seated near the front row, were fellow Knights of Columbus Patrick Guzman and Paul Maple.
(Guzman and Maple are both military veterans: Maple retired as an Air Force master sergeant, while Guzman retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel.)
“His convictions are alive in the principles of the Knights of Columbus: charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. He is as comfortable with us as we are with him. The Knights of Columbus are proud of who he has become as one of the top brasses in the nation,” Maple said.
As the new USINDOPACOM commander, Paparo said he stands firm in trying to quietly live his faith through his duties.
“I believe in fraternal institutions of service,” he said. “In my current role, I can’t be as active (in the Knights of Columbus) as I like. But after military service I intend to be active.”
“For me personally, I see trying, and I do mean trying (I am imperfect as all human beings are), to live the principles of loving God with all my heart and being and loving my neighbor as myself, as being a core principle to being the servant leader I hope to be.”
According to Guzman, “There’s a powerful correlation between the military, knights, leadership and humility. Ultimately all Knights are leaders. There’s so much in Scripture we can turn to for leadership and humility. We live the Catholic faith, share, and lead, to build God’s kingdom.”
Adm. Samuel Paparo saluted during the change of command ceremony May 3 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Sypert / U.S. Navy)
Called by faith to lead
Paparo said he finds that most admirals and generals he knows “are active and observant in a faith tradition — many are Catholic.”
“It’s not that I’m open about it, it’s that I don’t hide it or shy away from it,” he said. “People respect that as a founding principle of our nation. And I don’t announce my faith, I hope that people will see it in me.
“A favorite hymn since grade school is ‘They’ll Know We Are Christians by our Love.’ I think that’s a great model. And I’m in the military, so anyone who knows that song recognizes that it’s really a march!”
Paparo said he takes his leadership role seriously and feels called to lead by faith.
“I think providing spiritual support is a key duty of leadership. I will also tell you it’s of the highest priority for leadership. The key is connecting young people to the shepherds,” he said.
Paparo said balancing his professional life, family life and spiritual life all comes from anchoring himself in the Word of God.
“I start the day with (“The Bible in a Year” podcast with Father Mike Schmitz), and I try to be a good husband and father. Maureen and I are blessed with six children — four are still at home and in school. Once I sight them upon return from HQ, my worries are blocked out as the family sits down to dinner,” he said.
Maple said that Paparo’s foundation in his family is clear: “His wife, Maureen, has provided for a strong family and you can see Admiral Sam gains strength from Maureen and their children, who have grown and become God-fearing.”
Guzman agreed that in being a Knight, a lot of credit goes to spouses who help them accomplish the mission of becoming men of faith and service.
“Throughout the speeches at Brother Sam Paparo’s change of command, you heard from (Lloyd Austin, Charles Q. Brown Jr.) and Brother Sam himself that without our spouses, we can do nothing. They move mountains. Their contribution to our efforts, demonstrated by the Maui wildfires and its return to normalcy, prove nothing short of remarkable,” Guzman said.
To help bear the pressure of being a senior Navy officer, Paparo said he has go-to Scriptures he leans into.
“Psalms for calm, Proverbs for wisdom, the Epistles for practical advice on living my life, the Gospels when I am experiencing doubt, Ecclesiastes when I’m in need of stoicism and must master my emotions. With Father Mike, you get it all,” he said.
On May 11, Paparo was the keynote speaker at the annual banquet for the Knights of Columbus. He talked about his faith, what it means to be a Knight and answered questions from his fellow brothers.
“A leader follows orders even when they don’t like them,” Paparo told the attendees during his speech. “As in the garden when our Lord said, ‘Father, if it be your will to let this cup pass, but if not, let it be your will.’ And that’s what a leader does. And that’s the example the Lord gives us every time.”
Guzman later commented, “We Knights, we are evangelists. Whatever capacity we’re in — teachers, policemen, elected officials, the USINDOPACOM commander, all men 18 and above — we proclaim the Gospel.”
For more information on the Knights of Columbus, visit kofchawaii.org.
