By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
ROTA native Paul A. Manglona Jr., a Civil Engineer Corps officer in the U.S. Navy, was promoted to the rank of commander on July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.
A graduate of Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja in Rota and Father Duenas Memorial School in Guam’s Class of 2006, Manglona earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2010, and a Master of Science in Ocean and Resources Engineering from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 2016.
He is the son of the CNMI’s longest-serving lawmaker, Sen. Paul A. Manglona.
Since commissioning through Officer Candidate School in September 2010, Cmdr. Manglona has served in numerous leadership and engineering assignments around the world. His deployments and assignments include Afghanistan, Okinawa, Timor-Leste, Port Hueneme, Hawaii, Virginia Beach, Iceland, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
Among his notable assignments, Cmdr. Manglona served as executive officer for Underwater Construction Team One in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and later as resident officer in charge of construction in Keflavik, Iceland, where he oversaw military construction projects supporting defense objectives in the North Atlantic.
Cmdr. Manglona is designated as a Seabee combat warfare officer and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Arizona. His personal decorations include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, an Army Commendation Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, a Legion of Merit, and various other service and campaign medals.
His promotion to commander reflects more than 15 years of distinguished service, leadership, and engineering excellence in support of the U.S. Navy and defense missions worldwide.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
