Bill Lescher's early operational tours were with the Lamplighters and Swampfoxes of HSL-36 and 44, mostly deploying to the Middle East aboard the USS O'Bannon (DD 987), USS Clark (FFG 11), USS Capodanno (FF 1010), and USS Elrod (FFG 55). As an engineering test pilot at the Naval Air Warfare Center, he led the SH-60B Seahawk developmental test crew and fired the first guided missiles from a Navy helicopter. His staff responsibilities include resource, acquisition, and strategy duties on the Chief of Naval Operations', Secretary of the Navy's, Secretary of Defense's, and Joint Staff's staffs, respectively. As a flag officer, he served as the Deputy Director of Resources and Acquisition for the Joint Staff, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, and the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Capabilities and Resources.