MOBILE — The USS Alabama Battleship Commission announced Tuesday evening that Commander Mark J. Fields, U.S. Navy (Ret.) of Tuscaloosa, will become the ninth executive director of USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park.
Fields takes the helm effective Jan. 1, 2025. He follows Maj. Gen. Janet L. Cobb, U.S. Army (Ret.), who retires on Dec. 31 after serving nine years as executive director.
Fields most recently has served as the Tuscaloosa County license commissioner, and previously as the county’s chief human resource officer.
As a Naval Surface Warfare Officer, his sea assignments include Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer, USS BRONSTEIN; Damage Control Assistant, USS BUCHANAN; Combat Systems Officer, USS MCINERNEY; Executive Officer, USS PIONEER; and Executive Officer, USS ARDENT.
He concluded his service with assignments to the Joint Manpower and Personnel Directorate on the Joint Staff and the Naval Sea Systems Command at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard.
Fields retired from the Navy in 2007 following 20 years of active service.
“His selection as the executive director assures us that we have the right person to lead our memorial park,” said Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gailes, chairman of the USS ALABAMA Battleship Commission. “Mark Fields will bring superb leadership and management to the park and a deep sense of commitment to our mission and our park employees. We are very fortunate to have someone of Mark’s caliber to occupy this very important position.”
The USS Alabama battleship served during World War II and since the early 1960s has sat moored in Mobile Bay as the centerpiece of a memorial park that includes the USS Drum submarine, dozens of aircraft and numerous other museum displays.
The park also includes an eatery, gift store, and various programs and events it hosts throughout the year.
The Alabama Legislature outlined the mission of the USS Alabama Battleship Commission when it created the commission in 1963.
The commission shall “establish, operate and maintain a state memorial park to honor the Alabamians who participated so valiantly in all armed conflicts of the United States…and, as a permanent public memorial, to educate the public on the contributions and sacrifices of the veterans of all branches of the United States Armed Services in all conflicts.”
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