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My Duty Stations

Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Sigonella, Sicily

Aug 26,1998 - Aug 26, 2002

This was my first duty station and was here for 4 years. The purpose of Sigonella as a base is the gateway to the Mediterranean sea and the purpose of this satellite station is to keep longhaul communications to the 5ht and 6th fleets of the Med and Indian Ocean, and the troops on the ground. We had 2 satellite terminals at this station, the one pictured, a 38 ft SHF (Super High Frequency) antenna and an 8 ft EHF (Extremely High Frequency) antenna. Both were used for their own separate purpose and my job was to maintain and operate both terminals. I received training in Ft Gordon, GA on the SHF terminal. It is considered to be a joint forces communication terminal. The Air Force has the same thing and the Army and Marines have a mobile version, which all serve the same purpose. Training on this was pretty extensive, but not that difficult. however, it does take alot to maintain a system as big as this one. The other terminal, the EHF, I learned while was on station. There was not as much equipment, so it was easier to maintain, but it was more difficult to operate.

In about 2 years I became one of the main experts on station for both pieces of gear; Therefore, I became a critical person at the command. Pre 9/11, on every base, each command has to donate 11% of its personnel to assist with base security (gate guard). I did the job of physical security for a year. I was back at the command when 9/11 happened. Alot of people, including many reservist were called up to intensify base security. I had already served most of my time and secured a spot as one of the main tech's on our equipment, so that was a relief for me. I feel for those guys on the gates.... they have long 14+ hour days, with not many breaks or time to relax.

Tactical Support Communications

Sigonella, Sicily

Jan 2001- May 2001

I volunteered to go TAD. (Temporary Active Duty) to TSCOMM (Tactical Support Communications) while I was assigned to NCTS. This allowed me to break the monotony of the job and do something new. About half the time while I was here I gave flight briefs to pilots and issued crypto for the onboard comms in their planes. But, the briefs were not just limited to US pilots, there were many foreign pilots too. I cant remember all of them, it has been a while, but some that I remember were from Canada, Netherlands, England and Spain. This is where I earned my first NATO medal (Yugoslavia). Also because of our support to the Air crews, as a command, we were later issued the Navy Unit Commendation Medal. Flight briefs were not the only thing that I did there, I also worked with communications. I helped install a fiber driven system, Med Sat High Comm. This was just a new form of comms to the fleet in the Med (Mediterranean Sea). I also performed maintenance and troubleshooting on various pieces of equipment. I was there for 5 months, which was a nice break from my primary duty.

BeachMaster Unit 2

Little Creek, Virginia

Nov 25, 2002 - Nov 28, 2005

I was here for 3 years and I had a blast most of the time. It's always fun to go and work with something that you love to do. This was a relatively small command with about 156 sailors. There was a sea and a shore side (so that is 2 different UIC's), I was part of the shore side, I was the only ET at the command and the ET position was billeted to the shore side only. Since I was the only ET there, anything remotely connected to electronics was pushed my way. I worked on the commands surveillance system, researched and assisted with the install of the new phone system, installed cable runs (TV) in the building and fixed the 2 projection systems in our building. But my 2 main jobs were the install/troubleshooting of communication suites and the LAN admin. Both were great jobs. We were a mobile based amphibious unit that would board an LCU (Landing Craft Unit) or an LCAC (Land Craft Air Cushion) and then embark on a surface amphibious ship. From there we would deploy with marines to beaches all around the world, unloading troops, supplies, vehicles and anything else that supported the mission. Our job was to hit the beach first and set up camp (tents, communication posts, traffic lanes) and guide in all the supplies. In order to do this we need to have communications. I was the guy that installed and fixed all the communications in our vehicles. So I would go out the beach all the time to help train sailors on how to fix the gear. We had a variety of vehicles each with a different setup that used the same gear. Our vehicles consisted of HMMWV's (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or the HUMMER), the Deuce and a half (2 1/2 ton truck), LARC-V (Light Amphibious Recovery Craft 5th generation, for the old timers it was the DUCK), and finally, the new vehicle, the MTVR (Medium Tactical Vehicle Recovery, 7-Ton Truck). The 5 and 7 ton truck were a large flatbed truck with a communication box on the bed and was used as the main communications post.

USS Nashville LPD-13

Norfolk, Virginia

May 26, 2005 - Aug 26, 2005

The USS Nashville, the first and only ship I have or will ever deploy on. You should know that I am going subs, so I will never see another Surface ship again in my Navy career, unless something disqualifies me from subs. This was quite an experience, but from a different point of view. I was embarked personnel, meaning I was not permanently attached to the ship, I just rode with it. I came from BMU2, boarded a LCU (Landing Craft Unit), and headed out of the Chesapeake Bay and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT). We met up with the USS Nashville some ways out past the CBBT. This next part was cool. The Nashville is part of the amphibious fleet. This ship was made to sink, sort of. She would open her stern gate, and deballast (release air out of large air tanks in the ship to make her back end sink in the water). This allowed us to drive up right inside her and tie-up inside her well decks. She would the ballast the tanks and close the stern door. Now we were aboard the Nashville but attached to the LCU. What this meant was we were our own detachment, we did had our own job to do and did not participate in what the ships crew was doing. This got us out of alot of exercises and drills (And they did alot). It seems like they were working all the time, from 0700 to about 2100-2200. And they did this for 6 days out of the week, with Sunday their only day to have off. It was unfortunate for us, we did not do a single mission while on this deployment. I mean us as BeachMasters, we did not hit the beach once... the ship had their own missions to do, but none of them included us. So this was basically an easy cruise for us. We just sat back and bounced from port to port seeing many different countries. In the downtime that we had, I took it upon myself to work on my surface warfare pin. It took me 5 weeks to get it, which sounds short, but I put in some long days. I worked on my package for about 6 hours a day and then studied for another 6-8 hours each day. 5 weeks later, I was done. So in retrospect, it was not that easy, my mind was cooked.

USS North Carolina SSN-777

Newport News Ship Yard, Virginia

Jan 08, 2007 - Present

This is my first submarine duty station. I will be arriving at the PCU (Pre-Commissioned Unit) North Carolina in early January 2007. This is the navy's newest Virginia class attack submarine scheduled to be completed in June 2008. I will update this more when I get there.