From 1987 to 1993, Futrell served two tours of duty as an officer on nuclear submarines. On the submarine USS Ulysses S. Grant, near the end of the Cold War, Futrell came in constant contact with submarines of the former Soviet Union. Futrell also served on the commissioning crew of the submarine USS Kentucky operating out of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. In 2006, Futrell was recalled to active duty for twelve months during the Iraq War. For that service, Futrell was awarded the Bronze Star. Futrell was assigned as the officer in charge of DRMS operations in Iraq, leading installations at four U.S. bases in Iraq. In 2010, Futrell was again recalled to active military duty, this time on staff at U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, as a Navy Captain, where he was the director of the Commander's Action Group, under the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Robert F. Willard. He also led a crisis action team responding to the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan code named Operation Tomodachi. At the end of his one-year tour of duty, Futrell stayed in Hawaii as executive vice president of Hawaii Gas, the natural gas utility servicing the major Hawaiian Islands.
Public Service
In 1996 Futrell was elected to the City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, succeeding the incumbent Republican. From 2000 to 2005, Futrell served as the state representative for District 66 in East Baton Rouge Parish. He resigned a year into his second term to become the state director for then freshman U.S. Senator David Vitter, who left the Senate in 2017. In 2002, Futrell received the "Golden Apple Legislators Support of Education" award. In 2004, he obtained the Louisiana Municipal Association Leadership Award. In 2005, he procured the Louisiana Family Forum Legislative Advocate Award. In 2008, Futrell left Vitter's office to work for the City of Baton Rouge under then Mayor-President Kip Holden as the assistant chief administrative officer. Walter Monsour, under whom Futrell served, said that Futrell earned his trust through the handling of the $1.2 billion municipal sewer program. In 2009, upon Monsour's retirement, Futrell was elevated to chief administrative officer by Holden. In 2014, Futrell became the city manager for South San Francisco. He reorganized the city staff, hiring a number of new managers.
