Sailor in the Spotlight

Name: IT2 Soyoung Chon Department: CTF-67 Hometown: Los Angeles

Naval Air Station Sigonella is made up of 37 different commands. One such tenant command onboard is Commander, Task Force 67 (CTF-67). CTF-67’s mission is to provide professional and relevant support to U.S. Sixth Fleet, Naval Forces Europe, Naval Forces Africa, NATO and unified commanders in order to strengthen enduring and emerging partnerships and maintain our nation’s supremacy at sea.

One Sailor who has really stood out to her leadership over at CTF-67 is Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Soyoung Chon, from Los Angeles. Chon is part of the N6, or communications, department.

Every Sailor on this base has a particular type of job, and in some cases they end up working out of their specialties. At CTF-67, Chon’s job is a little different than what a normal IT would be doing, especially those stationed on ships.

“When I was on a ship before coming here, I dealt with an enterprise of all the computers on board,” said Chon. “Also you deal with all the users, so you deal with everything from accounts, to making sure the security of the system is good to go.”

“Here I deal with deal with P-8 media,” said Chon. “So when the aircraft comes in, whatever data they capture, we are in charge of extracting from the aircraft. After we extract, it is passed on so other people can process the data.”

Chon said her reasoning for joining the military was to work on her college degree. While being enlisted in the Navy, she has since completed her bachelor’s degree in computer information sciences.

Chon has been in in the Navy for six years. Before coming to Sigonella, Chon was stationed on the USS Nimitz out of Washington.

Everyone has different reason for what they like about being stationed overseas in Sicily.

“My favorite part about being stationed over here is definitely [the location],” said Chon. “Being out here, it is very easy to travel anywhere in Europe.”

Chon has taken advantage of how easy and affordable it is to travel around Europe. She has visited Germany, France, Switzerland, London, and more. Out of all the countries she has visited, Switzerland has been her favorite so far.

Although her time in the Navy is coming to an end, Chon plans on continuing on in the IT field using the degree that she received while in the Navy. So even though some Sailors decide not to make a career in the Navy, their experiences while serving can help persuade what type of career they will pursue afterwards.