The official publication of USS Emory S. Land
LANDMARK APRIL/MAY 2019 VOL X ISSUE II
Reuniting Brothers in arms
One Diver’s journey to the depths of uss arizona by MC2 Jordyn Diomede
FEATURING
Advancement Blues
By MC1 Jason Behnke
Guam Perimeter Run
By MC3 Destinyy Reed
TA: How Changes Impact ESL Sailors By MC2 Richard Miller
landmark magazine
TABLE OF CONTENTS THE COMMAND TRIAD COMMANDING OFFICER Capt. Michael D. Luckett EXECUTIVE OFFICER Cmdr. Ritchie L. Taylor COMMAND MASTER CHIEF (ACTING) CMDCS Paul James
LANDMARK MAGAZINE STAFF PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER Lt. Daniel Moore LEADING PETTY OFFICER MC1 Steven Khor LEAD EDITOR MC2 Jordyn Diomede ASSISTANT EDITOR MC1 Jason Behnke SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER MC2 Richard Miller STAFF JOURNALIST MC3 Destinyy Reed STAFF JOURNALIST MCSA Lorenz Zuercher
Landmark Magazine is an authorized publication for Sailors aboard the USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). Contents herein are not the views of, or endorsed by the United States government, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of the Navy, or the Commanding Officer of the ESL. All news, photos, and information for publication in Landmark Magazine must be submitted to the Public Affairs Officer of the USS Emory S. Land. Landmark Magazine is produced by ESL Media Services department. ESL is manned by an integrated crew of Sailors and civilian mariners under the administrative control of Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and operational control of the Commander, Task Force 74. As a forward-deployed naval force, ESL is tasked to provide epeditionary, intermediate-level maintenance and repairs, hotel services, and logistics support to deployed Guided-Missile and Fast-Attack submarines deployed in the 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet areas of operation.
REPRODUCTION OF ANY PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MUST BE AUTHORIZED BY THE PUBLISHER AND CREDITED TO LANDMARK MAGAZINE AND THE CONTRIBUTORS INVOLVED.
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LEADERSHIP
Pg. 03 - Commanding Officer Pg. 05 - Executive Officer
FEATURES
Pg. 07 - Advancement Blues Pg. 09 - Guam Perimeter Run Pg. 11 - Shared Experiences Pg. 13 - Reuniting Brothers in Arms Pg. 17 - TA: How Changes Impact ESL Sailors Pg. 19 - Through the Lens
PHOTO BY MC2 JORDYN DIOMEDE 2
Capt. Michael Luckett Commanding Officer, USS Emory S. Land
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The Battle of Midway anniversary is coming up. Why is it important for us to remember that battle? It is important for us to study military history in general because there are a lot of lessons to be learned from a variety of battles over the course of the history of the U.S. Navy and other navies. It is important to remember Midway because it is a very complex and layered battle. You can study different aspects of it at various levels from individual ship performance to a tactical unit level discussion to the grand strategic level. No matter what your warfighting specialty is, you can learn lessons from that as you develop professionally throughout your career. What makes the Battle of Midway unique is how having better intelligence at both the strategic and tactical level enabled both Admiral Nimitz and Admiral Spruance to have a better understanding of the situation, where the enemy forces were going to be, what their objectives were, and what their disposition was than the Japanese had on the Americans. Admiral Spruance was able to leverage that to maintain surprise and position his forces so that he was able to find and fix the Japanese force before his force was discovered, which enabled him to seize the initiative and eventually win the battle. So that is what is unique about the Battle of Midway. The other point is one that is relevant to us in our job as an expeditionary repair ship in combat, is the story of the USS Yorktown. Yorktown had participated in the Battle of Coral Sea and was
damaged in that battle about a month before Midway, she steamed back into Pearl Harbor before the Battle of Midway started and they put her in the dry dock there. In the course of three days, more than 1400 workers descended upon the ship aided by the crew and in three days, did interim battle damage repairs like welding patches onto the hull, shoring up bulkheads inside the ship, patching up the flight deck and the elevators, to the point where she was sea worthy and ready to fight again. Additionally, they were able to replenish all the food supply, reload the ammunition, replace the lost pilots in the air group, rearm, refuel, and got Yorktown back out to sea three days after she pulled in, ready to fight. She was not in top condition but she was in a condition that was sufficient enough to go out and be a decisive contributor to the battle. Her air wing was part of what tipped the balance of forces in the battle. Additionally, when she left, she took onboard with her a group of repair workers from the USS Vestal, which was a repair ship that had been damaged during the Pearl Harbor attack, and those repair Sailors went into battle with the Yorktown. They continued to fix battle damage all the way into combat. Yorktown was eventually struck and sunk by the end of it, but the work that the repair, resupply, rearm crews did in those three days while Yorktown was in Pearl Harbor, and on the way into the battle, enabled her to be a decisive contributor to the victory there.
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What does Memorial Day mean to you? What do you want the crew to remember this Memorial Day? Memorial day is important to me because it is a time for us to reflect and honor the sacrifices of those service members, soldiers, Sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsman, who have given their lives in the defense of our country over the
course of our country’s history. Also, it is a time for us to reflect on that, as uniform wearing members of the military, we may one day be asked to give that same sacrifice. We need to be mentally prepared for the day when and if it comes. I want the crew to understand what has come before, what people have done in your place in the past, and what might be asked of you in the future.
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What are some recent accomplishments by the crew that you would like to highlight? The last few months have been a really busy time for the ESL and team tender, we have conducted support to a dozen different submarines since we relieved as lead tender at the beginning of March, that is a pretty significant accomplishment. We have done a lot of good hard work at the deck plate level, both supporting the homeported submarines and the deployed ships that have come through here. Additionally, I’d like to highlight the response of the medical team to the events that occurred on Frank Cable a couple of weeks ago. Our medical team responded, supported our sister ship, crew, and provided urgent medical care to Sailors in need. What are some of the upcoming goals the crew should be focused on achieving? As we continue our time as lead tender and lead maintenance activity, it is important that everyone be focused on what our outcomes and objectives are supposed to be for our support of tended units. That we provide first-time quality maintenance on-time to enable the readiness of those submarines. It is important to remember that the submarines we support are not accomplishing their mission while in port. For them to do their job they need to be at sea, whether it is training or conducting operations. So our job is to get those ships out to sea on time and in as good of a condition as we can in regards to material, personnel, supply, and ordnance readiness. So that means there is a necessary tension that we have to maintain between trying to keep the schedule and making sure that we do the job right. It is that balance in that we have to do the job right in the first place, because it always takes longer to do something twice than it does to do the job right the first time. There is a sense of urgency because there is a real need to maintain schedules to get those ships back out to sea. How we balance those needs is something that we all have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, no matter where you are in the organization, so I’d like to ask people to think about that as we go about our day-to-day operations.
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Advancement results have just come out. What would you like to say to the Sailors that have been selected for advancement? Advancement time is always a good time. I’m always happy to see my Sailors advance. As I talk about it in my command philosophy, professional development is part of what we are and who we are as Sailors. Advancement is a recognition of two things, one is recognition for the hard work done by the individual to reach that next level in their career, but it is also a challenge for the individual to keep developing professionally. As they put on a new rank the expectation is that they continue to grow, continue to develop, and meet the mastery of their profession. Would you like to add anything? Yes. The one other topic I’d like to talk about is uncertainty in what we do. I often get feedback from the crew stating that, “You know captain, things would be much easier if we were able to plan weeks or months in advance, understand everything that was going to happen, be able to stick with the plan and execute that. We would be able to get things done much more effectively.” That is clearly true. Last minute changes of plans certainly reduce our effectiveness and increase the churn, but is important to remember that uncertainty is a natural part of what we do. It is something that we will never be able to eliminate in our job. The military is responsive to the national security needs of the nation, which is not always under our control. We respond to the actions of our allies, our adversaries, nature, many things that are outside of our control. Our requirements and the requirements of the Navy are driven by the things that we don’t necessarily control. Anybody who has been in the Navy for any extended period of time can tell you a story where what they saw on the news at night changed what they were doing at work the next morning. At the more tactical level on a day-to-day basis, our job of supporting the submarines is filled with uncertainty because submarines are inherently complex machines and it is nearly impossible to predict when things are going to break or go wrong on a complex piece of machinery like that. When you tie the requirements of operations with the uncertainty of the complex machine, that is a recipe for the continued last minute changes to priorities. That is simply an unavoidable characteristic of what we do.
PHOTO BY MC1 STEVEN KHOR 4
Cmdr. Ritchie Taylor Executive Officer, USS Emory S. Land
out of the park the next time. Continue working on education and career development to give yourself a better chance, but most of all stay optimistic and don’t let the disappointment defeat you.
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Why is it important for us to get underway periodically? It is important to get underway to exercise the ship’s capabilities and ensure we are ready, at any time, to fulfill our duties to the fleet. It is a good opportunity to develop our skills and work out any rust before it develops. Our responsibilities, such as damage control and security, are perishable skills that need constant practice for us to stay sharp. Advancement results have just come out. What would you like to say to the Sailors that have been selected for advancement? I’d like to say congratulations to all of the Sailors who were selected for advancement. With the new rank comes a new set of responsibilities and expectations. Take your new role seriously, treat mistakes as learning experiences, and keep an ear open for valuable guidance. It is always satisfying to see hard work pay off and advancement is a great moment for Sailors. Enjoy the good news and push forward to do great things.
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What about Sailors who did not make it this time? For those who didn’t make it, keep your head up. I know it can be very discouraging to not make it. Back in my enlisted days, it took me countless tries to pick up first class. It’s not the end; you can push past a minor setback and come out in a great position. Study your profile sheet, identify your weak points, and come back fresh with a good attitude to knock it
What is your message to the Sailors who plan on spending the extended weekend enjoying some extra time with friends and family? Memorial Day weekend is great to spend quality time with family and have a break from a busy work schedule. Luckily, we’ll be back in port just in time for the long weekend so our Sailors should be able to enjoy it as much as possible. Whether you spend it hiking, grilling, diving, or anything else Guam has to offer, make sure to stay safe and have a plan. Make good decisions and always remember what I say: “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” We have been in the role of LMA for a few months now. How well do you feel we have been accomplishing the mission? We recently wrapped up the final stages of the LMA turnover and our crew has swelled in size. We’ve already demonstrated our repair capabilities to tended units and will continue throughout the summer. What is important is making sure Sailors get qualified. Don’t stay stagnant and continue pursuing qualifications to make sure we can perform at a high level. There are more tended units and inspections in the future, so I encourage the crew to continue working hard and moving forward. I appreciate everyone’s hard work navigating through the turnover period, keep it up! Is there anything else you would like to say to the crew? I know I’ve been here a while now, but once again I’d like to say how happy I am to be here as the XO for the ESL. I love this ship, I love Guam, and it’s an absolute pleasure to be here. Enjoy the long weekend, keep up the hard work, and remember my motto. XO out!
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ADVANCEMENT BLUES Story and Photo by MC1 Jason Behnke
Twice a year, tens of thousands of enlisted Sailors take part in a months-long ritual. They spend untold hours poring through thousands of pages of technical drivel in the hopes some of the information in those instructions 7
and manuals will be retained when test day arrives. Then, they wait more than two more months, unsure if the hard work paid off. The wait is finally over for this cycle. Sailors around the Navy received, or are about
to receive, notice on whether or not they were selected to be promoted to the next paygrade. As always, many Sailors are celebrating and many are feeling dejected. For those who didn’t make it, it’s important to remember
that the next exam is just a few months away. If you haven’t been studying, it’s time to start again. According to Navy Counselor 1st Class Andrew Cyvas, the most important thing to do now is to take a hard look at your profile sheet. “The first thing you need to do is look at your rating topics and subtopics, and see what you did well on and what you did poorly on,” Cyvas said. “It’s all broken down by percentiles as far as how you did compared to your peers.” Finding the topics you scored low on can help you identify areas you might want to spend extra time focusing on in your studying time. Don’t just focus on those subtopics though. When the bibliographies come out for the next exam, some of the subtopics may have changed. Cyvas also said people often misinterpret what these numbers mean. If your score is 50, it doesn’t mean you scored 50 percent. It’s graded on a curve. So, it means “half the people did better than you; half the people did worse than you.” “You always want to strive to stay in the top 25 percen-
tile, because that’s going to give you your PNA (Passed Not Advanced) points at the highest level,” Cyvas said. In order to get to that 25 percentile, it’s important to develop good study habits. If you scored much lower than your peers, you might want to try different studying methods. “I definitely recommend having someone else to study with,” Cyvas said. “I also recommend taking notes, because that’s a way of basically not only condensing information, but you absorb material better when you write stuff down.” If that’s not enough, asking your LPO, LCPO, or anyone else who’s taken these exams and successfully come out the other side can be a great option. They might have that one tip that worked for them that might also work for you. Sadly, there are some of you who feel like no matter what you do, it’s a pointless endeavor. Some ratings are overmanned. “I hate to say it, but there are some ratings that, if their evals are not good enough, they would actually have to score above an 80 in order to advance,” Cyvas said. “Mean-
ing, as soon as they go into the test, they already know they haven’t made it, which is unfortunate.” Cyvas also said that Sailors shouldn’t be too discouraged. There are many Sailors who faced this roadblock and still have highly successful careers. You could be chosen as one of the next Sailors to be promoted through the Meritorious Advancement Program, or your rate might open up the next cycle. The important thing is to not quit. It’s also important to talk with your department’s career counselor. They can explain other options, like officer programs or cross rating, that could help move your career forward. Regardless of your frustration of working hard and still not being promoted this cycle, you need to get back on that horse. Love it or hate it, you need to embrace it, because this semi-annual cycle will always be a major part of your Navy career. Whether you’re the one trying to get promoted, or you’re trying to help your junior Sailors get promoted, learning to successfully navigate this cycle will hopefully lead to less advancement blues. 8
GUAM PERIMETER RUN 48.6 MILES AND COUNTING... Story by MC3 Destinyy Reed
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Crew members assigned to the submarine tenders USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and USS Frank Cable (AS 40), unofficially known as “Team Tender,” participated in the annual Guam Running Club Perimeter Run April 20 in Agat, Guam. Team Tender Sailors of all rates and pay grades put their endurance to the test for the 48.6-mile run around Guam’s southern border. A few of the participates included Cmdr. Javier Agraz, Emory S. Land’s senior medical officer (SMO), Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Davidson, Emory S. Land’s radiological controls officer (RCO), Lt. Justin Gambrell, Emory S. Land’s undersea medical officer (UMO), and Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class JohnAngelo Cochico. Many Sailors participated in the run, and some even brought along spouses and friends to join in on the journey. “This is the second year my wife and I participated in the run and it was exciting that we got to do it with SMO and RCO this year,” said Gambrell. “This run is also a fun way to see the island and appreciate its beauty as you run along the perimeter.” Gambrell, Agraz and Davidson’s team consisted of 10 individuals made up of Navy and Air Force personnel and spouses. Their team’s name for the run was “Never Get in a Van with Strangers.” Gambrell describes the meaning behind their name
as a funny concept. “Between the two Navy and Air Force groups, my wife knew one of the Air Force wives so that’s how we came together for the event,” said Gambrell. “But for the most part we were all strangers.” Although the van strangers weren’t entirely a close-knit group, that didn’t stop them from working together and finishing in 3rd place overall in 6 hours, 10 minutes and 41 seconds. Team Tender was also represented by a team of boatswain’s mates and one engineman assigned to the repair departments of both tenders. From working together in the same shops onboard, they established a family like bond amongst them all. “Running with the people you love and pushing your limits with your friends and family encouraging you through the toughest-longest parts of the run is what makes it great,” said Cochico. “This was one of the toughest runs in my life, but with family and friends surrounding me anything is possible.” Team Tender Sailors may have participated in the event on two separate teams, but that doesn’t take away from the submarine tender’s one team, one fight motto. Both teams represented the tenders and finished strong together with pride and dignity.
“Running with the people you love and pushing your limits with your friends and family encouraging you through the toughest-longest parts of the run is what makes it great.”
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SHARED EXPERIENCES FORMER ESL SAILORS TELL THEIR STORIES Stories compiled by MC2 Richard A. Miller
The USS Emory S. Land’s longevity and continued service are built upon the contributions of generations of Sailors. Through 40 years of service, ESL has played a role in countless lives and 11
left a lasting impression on thousands of current and former Sailors. Nearly every Sailor who has been stationed aboard a ship retains vivid memories of their time spent in their ship’s passageways.
The Landmark staff recently reached out to former ESL Sailors on Facebook to hear about their experiences as members of the crew. The following stories were selected from the responses.
“One time we went to Nassau, Bahamas. Jeane Dixon, a famous psychic, had predicted a vessel with the hull number 39 would disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, which we were going to pass through on our way. Most of the cooks at that time were very superstitious and asked for leave. I remember seeing rabbit feet and rosary beads while going through the chow line, as not all of them could have leave at the same time. I stood forward lookout and the waves were high enough to get our feet wet. The phone talker called to see if we could come in because we couldn’t see anything anyway and the officer of the deck turned us down. A few minutes later we got called in. The commanding officer had walked into the pilot house and asked why the OOD still had lookouts out. We stood in the corner of the pilot house until the end of our watch. After the watch, we went to breakfast and were the only ones on the whole mess deck. It was the most
people sea sick I’ve ever seen. The storm warped a lot of the decks. Most equipment in the machine shop had to have two opposite corners unbolted to keep from warping.” – Jim Brokaw
time. Just as I finished putting everything in place, another crew member just happened to enter the compartment. He saw the victim and called the bridge to notify them of the emergency. Just as expected, I heard ‘duty Corpsman lay to “In 1988, in the Gulf of xx-xx-xx,’ over the 1MC. Since Oman, there was a big white I was not able to respond as shark that liked to hang out I normally would, two other near our ship for food and corpsmen responded. As fish. We had small buoys tied they entered the space, they alongside, and as they drifted saw the victim and instantly together and apart, the shark knew it was a drill. As they got stuck. So many people began treating the victim, the tried to use human power to executive officer entered the push two ships apart to save space. He thought it was real that shark. Luckily, he got and ordered the bridge to free.” – Marcher Castell speed the ship to full power so we could get this crew “In 1985, I was a corpsman member medically evacuated on ESL. Our medical officer out. Our medical officer tasked me to come up with arrived shortly after and told a medical drill for our the XO that it was only a drill. department. I came up with The XO was furious. You see, a scenario of a crew member she was supposed to clear the working in one of the machine drill by the XO first. Once shops who managed to get his it’s approved and scheduled, arm stuck in a machine, which you’re good to go. Well, she ripped his arm off. I used an didn’t. You can guess how that arm from a CPR mannequin went down. We no longer and a bunch of fake blood. did our own drills.” – Jay We were underway at the Rosenfield
“AS THEY BEGAN TREATING THE VICTIM, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER ENTERED THE SPACE. HE THOUGHT IT WAS REAL AND ORDERED THE BRIDGE TO SPEED THE SHIP TO FULL POWER SO WE COULD GET THIS CREW MEMBER MEDICALLY EVACUATED OUT.” 12
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Reuniting Brothers in Arms One diver’s journey to the depths of uss arizona story by MC2 Jordyn Diomede
Navy Diver 1st Class Mike Thomason poses for a photo while supervising a dive at Polaris Point, April 12. Photo by MC2 Jordyn Diomede 14
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here are many things Navy divers do to contribute to the overall mission of the Navy. From repairing submarines in preparation for deployment to body recoveries, divers are a part of a tight-knit community trained in a number of specialties. Divers complete many dives in their careers, but to Navy Diver 1st Class Mike Thomason, assigned to the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), the dive that stands out most in his 15-year career involves a retired master chief and his return to his shipmates on USS Arizona (BB 39). Retired Master Chief Raymond Haerry was a 20-year-old coxswain during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. He was one of 335 people to survive the attack on the battleship. He continued his service in the Navy until 1964 when he retired as a master chief petty officer after 24 years of service. When Haerry passed away on Sept. 27, 2016, his son kept his cremains until the time had come for his father to be reunited with his shipmates. Although Haerry had never returned to Pearl Harbor after the attacks, he had mentioned to his family that the ship is where he would like his remains to be placed. “That brotherhood doesn’t go away and as he got closer to the end of life, it resonated with him,” Haerry’s granddaughter Jessica
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Marino told the Associated Press. “He didn’t want to see the site or relive that disaster, but he wanted to relive that camaraderie.” On April 15, 2017, the time had come, and Thomason, who was assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 in Pearl Harbor, was the diver assigned to safely place Haerry’s cremains inside one of the gun turrets on the battleship. Thomason remembers the moment he received the urn from Marino. He had to move his hands around hers to properly grab the urn for the journey down to the ship. “She was not letting go of that urn,” he said. “I want to say a large portion of my mask filled up with tears.” The interment is a choreographed dive completed ceremoniously by four divers, said Thomason. He was responsible for holding on tightly to Haerry’s urn while one diver guided him on his left, another diver guided him on his right, and one diver pushed his feet through the water. They sank ceremoniously to where they would place the remains. “I go down inside one of the turrets that broke off, and we inter inside of there,” said Thomason. “There’s a giant crack so
it’s dark, you can’t see your hand in front of your face, and it’s just eerie.” When he reached his hand inside the crack he could feel all of the urns. He described them as about the size of a hydro flask. “I could feel all of the people that were in there, that perished in the wreck or that have died before that served and were interred,” said Thomason. “It was pretty surreal feeling all of those people.” He said a prayer for Haerry as he placed his remains in the turret. “It was probably one of the most emotional dives that I’ve ever made,” said Thomason. “The whole family was there to watch me put their grandfather and their great grandfather down with his buddies.” Haerry was the 42nd USS Arizona survivor to be interred in the underwater grave of approximately 900 other Sailors and Marines who were never recovered from the wreckage. “That interment was probably one of my most rewarding things I’ve done in my career,” said Thomason. “It made me feel good, like I actually did something.”
Photo by Elaine Simon/Pacific Historic Parks 16
TA
Life in the military is built on a duality of sacrifice and reward. Service members spend countless hours, days, weeks, months, and years away from loved ones, with their sacrifice rewarded not only through awards and formal recognition, but through a set of predefined benefits and allowances. Naval service comes with a variety of benefits including 17
HOW CHANGES IMPACT ESL SAILORS STORY BY MC2 MILLER, PHOTO BY CNP PUBLIC AFFAIRS
healthcare, housing, and education. The Post-911 GI Bill and Montgomery GI Bill are some of the most well-known tools for active duty military and veterans to fund their education. In addition to the GI Bill, many active-duty Sailors earn their degrees through the Tuition Assistance (TA) program and the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE).
These annually-funded programs provide a tool for Sailors to earn an education while preserving GI Bill benefits, or to continue schooling after GI Bill benefits have been exhausted. The Navy announced major changes to its TA and NCPACE programs May 21. Beginning Oct. 1, Sailors must complete a minimum of two years of service before using TA or NCPACE.
“REMAIN POSITIVE, YOU CAN STILL ACHIEVE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS ON ACTIVE DUTY. WE STILL HAVE AMAZING RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO US.” Funding for both programs has also been capped at 12 semester hours per fiscal year and a total of 120 in a career. “Due to unprecedented usage and fiscal constraints, Navy is reshaping how we administer the TA and NCPACE programs,” said Jim Johnson, head of Navy Voluntary Education. “We want to keep both programs available and sustainable for eligible Sailors, while ensuring our Sailors remain focused on their professional qualifications.” Fleetwide TA demand in fiscal year 2019 was 30-percent higher at the mid-year review than the same point in fiscal year 2018. As a result, TA funding is expected to run out before the end of May with no additional funding available for the remainder of the fiscal year. Sailors currently taking classes or who are in receipt of a funded TA voucher will not be impacted. Johnson said the changes will ensure Sailors can put a greater focus on operational requirements. “A typical three semester hour college course requires up to 12 hours of weekly commitment,” said Johnson. “Commanding officers and officers in charge should actively manage
their Sailors’ off-duty education to meet their operational commitments when entering a period of increased operational tempo.” Despite the cuts, there are a variety of other options to fund education at a faster pace, including the GI Bill, scholarships, financial aid, and the Yellow Ribbon Program. “There are so many scholarships out there,” said Chief Navy Counselor Roxanne Canada, career counselor aboard the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). “There are so many financial options available for Sailors to tap into that are sometimes underused due to us having the luxury of accessing TA with minimal restrictions.” Along with scholarships, Canada also recommended Pell Grants as a valuable method to finance higher education. “Pell Grants are an easy application process,” said Canada. “Sailors can log into their FASFA, fill out the form, and, instead of applying for loans, apply for the grant.” CLEP testing procedures also remain untouched by the recent changes to the TA program. “CLEP tests provide a phenomenal opportunity,” said Canada. “Some people can CLEP up to an associate’s
degree; I’ve seen it happen as a career counselor. That’s another underused program within the Voluntary Education Program.” Canada stated the importance of not letting cynicism cloud Sailors’ view of their responsibilities to the mission or of the opportunities the Navy provides. “Don’t be discouraged,” said Canada. “Take time, do a little bit of research, and be resourceful. Even if it can seem frustrating to accomplish a goal at a slower pace, remain positive, you can still achieve your long-term goals on active duty. We still have amazing resources available to us.” One of the main constants in military life is change. Sometimes processes change to adapt to rapidly-evolving operational responsibilities. As programs change, Canada said Sailors must learn to adapt as well. Sailors who choose to actively pursue an education still have resources available, no matter what pace they choose to go. No matter what funding method they choose, Sailors who devote themselves to their goals and make the necessary sacrifices to see them through to the end will see their hard work pay off and experience a reward that cannot be taken away.
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Through The Lens Photos by USS Emory S. Land Public Affairs
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Memorial Day May 27, 2019
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“...understand what has come before, what people have done in your place in the past, and what might be asked of you in the future.� - Capt. Michael Luckett 22