LT Eric Tan enlisted in the Navy in January 2006 as an Operations Specialist. He was assigned to USS ESSEX (LHD 2) homeported in Sasebo, Japan from June 2006 to December 2010. He served as the lead Air Intercept Controller and Watch Supervisor for 9 deployments in the Indo-Pacific region.
He was then assigned to Commander Patrol and Reconnaissance Force SEVENTH Fleet (CPRF7F) headquartered in Misawa, Japan from February 2011 to April 2014. He served as Operations Control Leading Petty Officer and provided flight support to P-3C/P-8A. Additionally, he was selected as Sailor of the Year in 2011. He attained his Bachelor of Art in East Asian Studies from the University of Maryland University College while stationed in Misawa.
LT Tan was commissioned as an Ensign through Officer Candidate School at Newport, RI in July 2018. His first division officer tour was onboard USS CHIEF (MCM 14) in Sasebo, Japan from October 2014 to August 2016. During this tour, he served as the Assistant Chief Engineer and deployed 3 times to South Korea for bilateral operations.
His follow on division officer tour was as Assistant Operations Officer onboard USS ASHLAND (LSD 48) homeported in Sasebo, Japan from August 2016 to July 2018. During this tour, he completed Selective Repair Availability and 3 deployments in the Indo-Pacific region with numerous high visibility operations.
He is currently serving as Officer Instructor at Naval Reserve Officer Training Command Unit Los Angeles Consortium at the University of Southern California.