NSF Diego Garcia holds inaugural MA Ball celebrating 50 year milestone

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jan David Mercado | 230811-N-EJ241-1148 DIEGO GARCIA, British Indian Ocean Territory – Attendees applaud to show their appreciation for everyone who helped during the inaugural Master-at-Arms (MA) ball August 11, 2023. This year’s MA ball celebrates the 50 year milestone of the MA rate. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jan David De Luna Mercado)  

DIEGO GARCIA, BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY

08.11.2023

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jan David Mercado 

U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia

DIEGO GARCIA, British Indian Ocean Territory (Aug. 11, 2023) – U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia held the inaugural Master-at-Arms (MA) ball Aug. 11, 2023.

This event marks the first time that an MA ball was held in Diego Garcia and especially commemorates the milestone of the MA rate turning 50.

“For 50 years, the Master-at-Arms rate has upheld a tradition of high standards of conduct, courtesy, and military excellence,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Andrew Bourdier, president of the MA ball committee, during the opening ceremony of the MA ball. “Today, the Master-at-Arms rate boasts over 10,000 brave men and women from E-1 to E-9 who continue to uphold the same virtues and high standards as our forbearers did 50 years ago.”

According to the Department of the Navy MA rating information card, Master-at-Arms are security specialists who perform antiterrorism, force protection, physical security, and law enforcement duties on land and at sea. They may operate a force protection watercraft, direct an investigation, control a base access point, or supervise a K9 asset.

“One of the most important things about tonight’s ceremony is learning about what makes the MA rate a family,” said Master-at-Arms Seaman Apprentice Gabriella Bomjardim, assigned to NSF Diego Garcia. “Being an MA allows me the opportunity to protect my family.”

Sailors assigned to NSF Diego Garcia have various levels of experience in the U.S. Navy, with some, like Bomjardim, having only months of experience, to others, like Bourdier, having several years. They all work together like a family to make sure that their mission is successfully accomplished.

“Being an MA to me means carrying on a tradition that was set forth by my great-grandfather, grandfather, and my father who was a sheriff’s deputy for 28 years and passed away last year,” said Bourdier about the generations of his family who served in the military. “My father gave everything he had to his career in law enforcement and criminal investigations. Carrying on that tradition of both military service and service in law enforcement to the U.S. Navy and to the country as a whole, allows me to continue the legacy of my family.”

NSF Diego Garcia's mission is to provide critical support to U.S. and allied forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean, while supporting multi-theater forces operating in the CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM, and PACOM areas of responsibilities in support of overseas contingency operations.

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• Date Taken: 08.11.2023
• Date Posted: 08.11.2023 13:00
• Story ID: 451208
• Location: DIEGO GARCIA, IO
• Hometown: HOUMA, LA, US
• Hometown: PORTSMOUTH, VA, US