What began as an interest in the sea and the opportunity to travel led to the top Navy position in San Diego for Rear Adm. Jose Luis Betancourt, the Navy’s senior Hispanic who is qualified to command a warship.

In February, Betancourt received the commission of commander of Navy Region Southwest and with it the unofficial title of Navy mayor. As commander, Betancourt oversees eight bases spread from San Diego to Lemoore, near Fresno, and Fallon, Nev. His responsibilities include maintaining airfields, piers, military housing and utilities, and complying with environmental laws. As the Navy mayor, he serves as a liaison between the Navy and the community. He replaced rear Adm. Frederic Ruehe.

Betancourt, 53, was born in Mexico and moved with his family to the United States at a young age. He calls Brownsville, Texas, home but is familiar with San Diego from several stations during his career. Betancourt was commissioned in 1972 after graduating from officer candidate school in Newport, R.I. He obtained his master’s degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. It was not his intent to make a life of the military, but after 30 years he is proud of his accomplishments, which include several decorations.

“Like many young people then, I did not plan to make the Navy a career,” Betancourt says. “But I worked for some outstanding people. Many served as excellent role models for me. I recall in particular two commanding officers who served as my mentors and whom I greatly admired. They were the ideal role models and I saw in them great satisfaction in a Navy career. They opted to serve our country in uniform — to ‘wear the cloth of the nation’ as our chief of naval operations likes to point out. I could think then of no more noble profession than the one I am in now.”

When he joined the Navy, only 1 percent of the branch’s population was Hispanic, compared to 5 percent of the U.S. population. Today, Hispanic men and women make up nearly 10 percent of the total naval force, and nearly 5 percent of the officers corps. Betancourt, whose son, Richard, also is in the Navy, believes the service is the ultimate opportunity for goal-oriented young Hispanic men and women. He has never encountered obstacles because of his ethnicity. “We recognize that Hispanics in our country are a growing population,” he says. “It is important for our Navy to make sure that we continue to offer the broadest range of opportunities possible to all Americans. Being Hispanic is not what makes the difference in service to Navy and nation. What makes the difference is deciding early on in our service that our opportunities are unlimited ... based solely on demonstrated ability, desire to learn, and willingness to face challenges head on.”

One of Betancourt’s goals during this appointment is to establish a better relationship with officials in Baja. “Many of the sailors in San Diego visit Tijuana and Baja,” he says. “It is to our mutual benefit to work together to ensure that our sailors have an enjoyable and enriching experience, while at the same time are excellent representatives of the Navy and the United States while (in Mexico).”

Rudy Fernandez, director of economic development and binational affairs and veteran/military liaison for San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy, is familiar with Betancourt’s efforts. “We’ve worked together doing things with Mexico, trying to get meetings with and to get to know the mayor of Tijuana and the American Consulate general in Tijuana better,” Fernandez says.

City schools executive Ronne Froman has known Betancourt seven years and knows even better the job he’s taken: Froman, who retired as a rear admiral in 2001, was a Navy mayor from 1997 to 2000. “I think being the Navy mayor here is probably one of the hardest jobs in the Navy,” Froman says. “It’s managing a major corporation as well as being involved in all the local community issues. The challenging thing about the job is that it’s not like anything Adm. Betancourt has ever done in the Navy. He’s a ship driver.”

Froman describes Betancourt as “what you see is what you get.” She says he’s very fair and has no hidden agendas. “He’s willing to negotiate and let everybody know that the Navy is a good neighbor.”

He will likely be called on to use those skills as planning moves forward on the North Embarcadero Alliance Visionary Plan that calls for turning the bayfront from Grape Street to Seaport Village into a pedestrian promenade. The effort, estimated to cost between $54 million and $57 million, is in the final planning stages. The cost is to be borne by the city of San Diego, San Diego Unified Port District, county of San Diego and the Navy. Betancourt is aware of the plans but has declined comment while he familiarizes himself with the issues.

Because of the Navy’s economic position in San Diego — the military service is worth nearly $5.5 billion to the gross regional product — the position of Navy mayor is keenly regarded in the business and civic communities.

“He is in one of the highest profile jobs in San Diego,” says Jessie J. Knight, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “And he wants to be a big part of the community.”

Although not a voting chamber member, Betancourt has a seat on the board and already has gotten involved in issues that include the airport and Navy housing. Knight describes Betancourt as “very much a warm person. Easy to meet, very approachable, a good guy. I think he was the right choice at the right time. His background and the fact that he’s Hispanic is nothing but good for San Diego right now. We’re going through cultural transformations here as Baja integrates with the San Diego side of the border.”

San Diego is familiar to Betancourt. He was stationed here most recently in 1998, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, and has watched the area change. “It has been interesting to see the continued growth of the city; the completion of the Convention Center expansion, and the progress being made on many other major construction projects like the new ballpark and various hotels and office buildings,” he says.

Headquarters for Betancourt are in the old Navy Supply Center building at Broadway and Harbor Drive in Downtown. “I have the best job in the Navy,” he says. “In my position, I influence directly what we like to call the quality of service for our men and women in uniform; that is the kinds of places we give them to work and to live and the tools to do their jobs. There is great personal satisfaction in this. I could never hope to function adequately without the help of hundreds of dedicated civilian employees and military staff. They do the hard work well. I provide the vision and the leadership.”

As the one in charge, Betancourt prefers a management style that empowers people under his command. “To let them know that I trust them to do the right thing,” he says. “For us the right thing is keeping our ships and aircraft squadrons ready to answer the call, no matter where that takes us.”

Betancourt’s priority is the men and women under his command.

“My main goal is to make Navy Region Southwest the best in the nation in terms of what we provide to the men and women who serve in ships and aircraft,” he says. “They are the reason for our existence. Second, I would like to continue to improve the quality of the services we offer to all Navy men and women, their families and our civilian employees. Third, I would like to strengthen our relationship with the communities that surround us. I believe that San Diego is a wonderful Navy city. I love it here and want the civilian leadership and community to feel that we are excellent citizens and neighbors, helping to make San Diego an even better place to live and to raise our families.”

A family man himself, Betancourt lives in military housing on the point in Point Loma with his wife, Angie, and a teen-age daughter. He also has two sons, Jeff, a movie editor who lives in Los Angeles, and Richard, who is in Charleston, S.C., training to be a submariner. In his spare time, Betancourt reads about history and business. He also enjoys golf and photography, but admits to not being very good at either.

When he departs in two or three years, Betancourt hopes to have left behind a positive legacy. “At the end of my tour here I would like to have people say that I left my region better than I found it,” he says.