Campa enlisted in the United States Navy on 2 June 1980. He completed
Recruit Training and
Hospital Corpsman "A" School in San Diego, California. Campa's duty assignments include , San Diego; Naval Medical Center, San Diego, California;
Seventh Marine Regiment,
First Marine Division,
Camp Pendleton; Naval Hospital,
Long Beach, California;
Third Force Service Support Group,
Fleet Marine Force,
Okinawa, Japan; Naval Hospital
Bremerton, Washington;
First Force Service Support Group during the
Gulf War; San Diego, California; and Naval Training Center,
Great Lakes, Illinois. Campa was selected to the
command master chief program in May 1999. He reported to in
Yokosuka, Japan as command master chief in November 1999 and served until June 2002. During his tour aboard
Curtis Wilbur, the ship deployed to the
North Arabian Sea in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. From June 2003 to February 2005, Campa served as the command master chief for , homeported in
Guam. He was then the command master chief at
Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was sworn in as
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) 11 in July 2006. As MCPON, Campa will be best remembered for "resetting" the Chief Petty Officers' Mess, changing the role of the chiefs from the perceived Naval Officer duties and functions they were carrying out, to more a role of "Deckplate Leadership," where chiefs are expected to "be on deck with their Sailors, directly leading & mentoring them and being the technical expert of their equipment." He created the chiefs' "Mission, Vision and Guiding Principles," a written set of expectations and guidance on how to conduct themselves as chiefs, which led to a change of the chiefs' evaluation system, using those seven "Guiding Principles" as benchmarks for grading criteria in chiefs' performance.
Retirement On 7 November 2008, Campa announced his plans to step down as MCPON on 12 December 2008 and to retire on 1 April 2009. On 5 December 2008, Fleet Master Chief
Rick D. West was announced as the 12th MCPON. Campa received the
Navy Distinguished Service Medal during his retirement ceremony. ==Awards and decorations==