May 25, 2008 2 min read

Uniontown native Cmdr. Emil J. Salansky was recently presented the Meritorious Service Medal for service as executive department head and administrative officer on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). He received the award after his two years on the aircraft carrier, which operates from Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, south of Tokyo.

Since his arrival in March 2006, Salansky drove the streamlining of many of the ship’s administrative and personnel functions, which helped clear more than $750,000 in pay discrepancies and greatly increased the timeliness in which pay transactions were filed.

He also developed and managed a plan for the pending move of more than 900 Kitty Hawk Sailors to USS George Washington (CVN 73) this summer, when it assumes operational duties out of Yokosuka from the Kitty Hawk, which will return to the United States to decommission.

Salansky enlisted in the Navy in 1976 and has since served on surface ships and in the submarine force. He rose through the enlisted ranks to chief petty officer before receiving his officer’s commission as an ensign in 1997.

He has since served in South Carolina, Hawaii and Yokosuka. He transferred from Kitty Hawk in April to become the Fleet Activities Yokosuka chief staff officer, which is the base’s second in command.

Salansky is a 1976 graduate of Laurel Highlands High School. He is married to the former Diana Louise Gaydos of Uniontown.

The USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group is on its spring deployment in the Western Pacific Ocean. The strike group is the U.S. Navy’s largest and includes the carrier, seven ships of Destroyer Squadron 15, two Aegis weapons system equipped guided-missile cruisers and Carrier Air Wing 5. The ships operate from Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, and the air wing operates from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. They serve as the 7th Fleet’s combatant force.