Michael Berdinka grew up in Westhampton. After graduating from Westhampton Beach High School, he attended SUNY Cobleskill, where he received an associate’s degree in accounting. However, he realized that accounting wasn’t for him. As a child, Berdinka became interested in submarines, and after graduating from Cobleskill, he decided to enlist in the Navy. He volunteered for a detail on nuclear submarines and was admitted into the Navy’s nuclear program. He trained first in electrical at the USO of Illinois Great Lakes training center, and then was stationed aboard the submarine tender USS Howard W. Gilmore. He then attended Nuclear power school to train as a nuclear reactor operator. He subsequently served aboard the USS Sargo (SSN-583), a nuclear fast attack submarine. During that time, he participated in weekly operations around Pearl Harbor and underwent training in individual submarine escape, controllers and circuit breakers, and submarine damage control, where he was trained to stop flooding inside a sub. Berdinka was then deployed to the Western Pacific where he toured Guam, the Philippines, Korea and Hong Kong. When he was honorably discharged from the Navy, he was an Electrician’s Mate First Class.
Berdinka used the skills he acquired in the Navy to obtain employment. He worked at two nuclear power plants, the first being the LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station in Illinois. The second was the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, where he held a management position until its closing. He went on to work as a Field Supervisor for overhead electric lines for the Long Island Lighting Company / LIPA until his retirement in 2004.
Berdinka is dedicated to the community in which he grew up. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, serving as Treasurer, and is an active member of the Immaculate Conception Church in Quiogue. Additionally, he has served as Finance Officer of the American Legion Arthur Ellis Hamm Post 834.
