Commands
Navy Reserve Officer Training Command, The Citadel
I served here (Charleston, South Carolina) from 2005 until 2007. I served as a full-time student, attending The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree there. I also earned minors in both International Relations and Spanish. I completed my degree there in 2.5 years, taking up to 24 credit hours per semester. I graduated Cum Laude, earning inductions into the Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Sigma Delta Pi honor societies.
Officer Training Command, Newport
I served here (Newport, Rhode Island) from 2004 until 2005. I attended two different schools here. First I attended Broadened Opportunity for Officer Select Trainees (BOOST) and later attended the Naval Science Institute (NSI). Both of these courses were a part of the Navy's Seaman to Admiral, 21st Century (STA-21) program that I had been selected to participate in. This is the US Navy's most prestigious Enlisted-to-Officer commissioning program, only selecting between 50-70 new participants each year.
USS JARRETT (FFG-33)
I served here (San Diego, California) from 2001 until 2004. I deployed with this ship across the Pacific, and Indian Oceans to the Arabian Gulf twice. I was the primary maintenance technician on multiple radar and communications systems, also fixing personal electronic devices for many of my fellow Sailors. I continued to demonstrate keen leadership abilities while here, taking on leadership roles as one of two Combat Systems Officers of the Watch, being the line commander for both Underway Replenishment and Sea and Anchor details, and being a workcenter supervisor for 2 different workcenters. I earned multiple awards while on this Ship, including being named the Ship's and Squadron's (Destroyer Squadron 21, a group that included 8 Ships) Junior Sailor of the Year in 2002. I was selected to participate in the STA-21 program the following year to earn a Commission as an Officer later on.
Naval Education and Training Command
I attended a trio of different courses after boot camp to prepare him to be an Electronics Technician from 2000 until 2001. First I attended the Advanced Electronics Technical Core school in Great Lakes, Illinois. I then attended the Electronics Technician "A" school in Great Lakes, Illinois. Finally, I attended the Ship-to-Helicopter Communications System Technician (system known as the AN/SRQ-4) maintenance technician school in San Diego, California.
Basic Training (aka Boot Camp)
Immediately after enlisting, I was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois to attend Basic Training, serving there in 2000. Here I showed his first signs of leadership and organization by taking on the watchbill coordinator position for the whole building, coordinating for 30 personnel to man 2 watch positions at all times. This was complicated because I had to understand the key tasks that each of these recruits could not miss with their divisions, having to manage the watch schedules in a way to minimize conflicts for each of their training schedules.