Among Friends in Fair Winds and Rough Seas

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Caylen McCutcheon | 231026-N-NX635-1001 PACIFIC OCEAN - Though duty at sea oft necessitates distance from family and friends, which can lead to an arduous and stressful work environment, there are methods and means of mitigating that strain by fostering support networks throughout and beyond time on the open ocean. For a lucky few sailors, like Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airmen Keagan Peace and Patrick Detels, being so far out to sea doesn’t necessarily mean being away from old friends.  

PACIFIC OCEAN

10.26.2023

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Caylen McCutcheon 

USS Nimitz (CVN 68)   

PACIFIC OCEAN - With a well-earned and long-awaited return to relatives and friends back home, sailors rightfully view the Nimitz’s time at port in Bremerton after a long and tiresome deployment as a chance to rest, recuperate, and recharge. Additionally, this period not only serves not only as a time for recovery, but for reflection and a chance to incorporate new lessons and strategies to better prepare sailors for a career centered on service at sea.

Though duty at sea oft necessitates distance from family and friends, which can lead to an arduous and stressful work environment, there are methods and means of mitigating that strain by fostering support networks throughout and beyond time on the open ocean. For a lucky few sailors, like Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airmen Keagan Peace and Patrick Detels, being so far out to sea doesn’t necessarily mean being away from old friends.

“I met Patrick on my first day of preschool,” said Peace. “I’d just walked into class for the first time and didn’t know anybody, and he sort of waved me down and told me to sit next to him; ever since then, we’ve been best buds. He’s actually the one who convinced me to join the Navy. It wasn’t very hard; he just asked me, and I said ‘yup.’”

For sailors like Peace and Detels, having close connections to confide in while aboard can prove an invaluable resource when dealing with the pressures and demanding work of naval service. While not everyone is so lucky to have a childhood friend serving with them, Peace and Detels are a model of the type of relationships sailors should cultivate to provide the flexibility and support that proves beneficial for tackling the challenges military service may bring.

“It helped me out a lot, having someone I could trust and talk to,” said Peace. “My dad was passing away while we were on deployment, and it was a really stressful time. Having someone that I could come to who I trusted and who knew me was massive.”

Developing a more immediate social support network through coworkers and friends on which sailors may rely at each new command or duty station rightfully seems like a daunting endeavor. However, the alternative of an isolated and lonely stint at sea or in port can amplify the unforeseen challenges of life.

“A lot of people in the Navy can feel alone on account of coming into new areas, commands and workcenters,” said Peace. “It feels like a massive setback, but taking the time to reach out and make those connections and friendships makes everything so much easier than the alternative.”

Further, the wider these support structures and friend-groups become, the easier it is to establish and expand them in the future. Learning to make friends and work with a diverse body of individuals from varying backgrounds is essential to a successful career in the Navy, both in terms of facilitating a healthier work environment and good relationship with coworkers, and as stated earlier, for the sake of one’s own mental health and well-being.

“Honestly, it’s been easier to make friends and sort of expand my social group already having one on board,” said Peace. “If Detels gets along with somebody, there’s a 90% chance I will too.”

It is true that not everyone may be so lucky as to have a childhood friend working aboard, but anyone can look to Peace and Detels as an example of the type of relationships that serve to benefit every sailor in tackling the trials and tribulations of a naval career. This well-earned respite invites sailors to take comfort in the friends and family which service and duty so often call us away from, but it is just as much a time to foster new friendships and build the foundations of relationships with those on which we must rely when duty calls us far from hearth and home.

• Date Taken: 10.26.2023
• Date Posted: 12.22.2023 11:48
• Story ID: 460671
• Location: PACIFIC OCEAN