“ A Mercyhurst lifer, Belovarac says he s worked at least part time at his alma mater ever since his 1973 graduation. For most of that time, he s had a parallel career in naval intelligence. ” ’ ’ ’ Belovarac arrived at Mercyhurst in 1971 as a junior transfer and quickly settled into the school s history department and its brand-new rowing program. Belovarac had never rowed before, though hed been at home on the water since childhood. ’ “ He made history as part of the frst Laker crew to win a race, beating Bufalo State and the Canisius novice team in October 1971. After graduation, he returned as an assistant coach, became head coach in 1979, and guided the program through its growth phase until 1986. Though he enjoyed his history studies, he never expected to teach the subject, not in my wildest dreams. He earned a master s degree in history from Case Western Reserve, but found himself drawn instead to college administration. ” ’ ’ While continuing to coach the rowing team, he served Mercyhurst as registrar, director of institutional research and more. In 1979 he was asked to don one more hat and teach a few history courses. He discovered it wasn t as bad as hed imagined. Though he says he s basically very shy, throw him in front of a classroom ’ ’ Leading a double life Story by Sue Corbran When Allan Belovarac steps to the podium to teach “War in the Western World” this term, he brings with him background that not many history professors can claim – 28 years of experience as an intelligence specialist in the U.S. Naval Reserve. and he turns into a dynamic lecturer. History is the mother of all disciplines, he believes, and he enjoys nothing more than helping students connect the lessons of the past to the world around them today.
’ Though he was deeply disappointed by his disqualifcation, he can laugh about it now. “Don t they know that Admiral Nelson was blind in one eye?” he asks, or that Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill wearing glasses?” “ ’ Years later, Belovarac found another route to naval service, signing on as an enlisted man in 1984. But by this time he had earned a Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Bufalo and his new bosses quickly realized his background in analysis and writing suited him for naval intelligence. Belovarac s skills paved the way to his enlistment as a second-class petty ofcer and intel specialist. After two years of training, he received a direct commission as an ensign in December 1986. During monthly weekend drills and summer assignments lasting several weeks, he did the same kind of work done by regular Navy personnel. Should trouble erupt, the Navy needed a complete picture of the area, from the spots where helicopters could land to the lines of communication available. So his unit might be called on study the region. His specialty was photo imagery. That kind of work is computerized now, but in those days he worked with slide rules, calculating distances by analyzing shadows and objects of known sizes. ’ Over the years, he rose through the ranks to commander, served missions around the world (most notably in Japan and Malta) and earned a variety of commendations. He also added to his academic credentials, earning a master s in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College, where his dissertation on the rising naval power of China was chosen outstanding thesis. Reserve units have to be ready to respond on short notice in the event of an emergency. Several times that has meant call-ups for weeks or months of full-time service. He was mobilized for the frst Iraqi war in 1991, working from a base in Norfolk to feed intelligence to the front lines during the invasion of Kuwait. In 1996 he was recalled to support the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia. In the aftermath of 9-11 he helped coordinate the sharing of intelligence between the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. naval command in the area. Most recently Belovarac returned to Japan to help set up a Crisis Action Center for U.S. Forces Japan after the earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011. In the Navy Coming from a family with a long Navy history, Belovarac once dreamed of entering the U.S. Naval Academy. While in grad school at Case, he pursued the next best thing – a commission in the Naval Reserve – until his trademark thick glasses eventually proved his undoing.
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