Sailor in the Spotlight

By MCSA Triniti Lersch, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

People have many reasons for joining the military, such as paying for college, family tradition, or a desire to serve one’s country. For Yeoman Seaman Alexis Carpenter from Flat Rock, Michigan, joining the Navy was the result of family influence. Her uncle, who was in the Navy, gave her more information than any of the recruiting offices, and led to her signing up on June 26, 2019.

Carpenter is now serving at her first command, Naval Air Station Sigonella, with Naval Command Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Sicily. Carpenter is with the N1/Admin department and will be here in Sicily for 3 years.

As a Yeoman, a normal work day for Carpenter involves a lot of correspondence and paperwork going up and through her chain of command and then back to her.

Although she has only been at her first command for six months, Carpenter has already stood out to her leaders with her performance in the office.

“YNSN Carpenter is a rising star with a great work ethic who willingly volunteers for additional responsibilities and is currently performing on a third class level,” remarked Construction Electrician First Class Michael Griffiths, the Division Leading Petty Officer.

“She is a standout performer who consistently displays pride and professionalism in all facets of her rating,” added Griffiths.

Carpenter also has a few collateral duties. She is a Command Resilience Team member and a part of the activities committee, and she is currently working on becoming a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocate.

Carpenters favorite saying is, “Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.”

“Sometimes things here can be a little chaotic, and a lot of members here are first term people, so there’s not always a lot of experience,” explained Carpenter. “You need to just be ready to change things, always.”

Carpenter future plans involve taking college courses and cross-rating to Legalman due to her longtime desire of wanting to be lawyer. To cross-rate, Carpenter will have to wait until she advances to E-5, a second class petty officer, before she would be eligible to become a Legalman.

Carpenter enjoys playing video games in her free time and plans to expand her travel outside of Sicily once the lockdown is complete, with visiting Germany at the top of her list.