Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer Kimberly Martinez | Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Rasheed Collins from Navy Recruiting Station St. Thomas...... read more read more
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Engineman 1st Class Josephat Satenay received a phone call, Feb. 28, 2017, that would change his recruiting experience forever.
On the other end of the line was a St. Thomas Fire Department official, notifying him that his recruiting station had been burned to the ground and was one of many government facilities vandalized in the city that day.
Upon arriving to scene, Satenay was filled with shock and disbelief at the sight of the remnants of his station.
“When I spoke to the local police, they told me that our station wasn’t the only one attacked,” said Satenay.
According to local police, a lone person carried out attacks on multiple federal facilities in the USVI. The police and fire departments also responded to two related fires: one at the Ron De Lugo Federal Courthouse and another at the U.S. Coast Guard Station.
After a few days, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, with the assistance of the VITEMA, Virgin Islands Police Department, and the Virgin Islands Fire Service continued investigating the incident, and arrested and charged a suspect for the attacks.
In the meantime, Satenay and fellow recruiter, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Rasheed Collins, both anxious to get back to the business of recruiting, took to their community in search of assistance with solidifying a temporary location to conduct business.
They briefly relocated to the district’s San Juan, Puerto Rico Navy Recruiting Station, while the command replenished the basic tools they needed to recruit.
“We lost a lot of things during the fire,” said Collins, “including awards, computers and some things that we can never replace. I knew that we would be able to pick up the pieces and regroup soon though, and continue to serve the community recruiting the best and brightest for the Navy.”
Faced with the uphill challenge of rebuilding their entire station from scratch, including their Delayed Entry Program and countless files destroyed in the blaze, the team was determined not to quit or allow the incident to hinder them from serving the people of the Virgin Islands.
“Recruiting now after the fire is getting a lot better,” said Collins. “It took some time for the community to learn that we're still around and haven't stopped serving them, which is very important because that is why we are here. Initially, it was a struggle, but we understand that the mission and our job are bigger than we are, so we stay motivated.”
Satenay, a son of St. Thomas, has strong ties to the community outside of his official capacity and knew that he could rely on it to come to the aid of his station as they worked to regain a sense of normalcy.
“This is my home and these are my people, so I owe it to them to give back everything they have ever given me,” said Satenay referring to his community-at-large.
He credits his time growing up in St. Thomas with implanting his desire to stay connected and give back to those residing in the territory.
“I can remember when I was growing up, somebody gave their time and energy to me, so I have to give back to the community,” said Satenay. “We don’t just take from the community, we give back to it. When you do this, the residents will remember your contributions and know your compassion for them is genuine.”
Satenay, the station’s leading petty officer, has recruited in St. Thomas since 2014 and will transfer back to the Fleet this year. For years leading up to the St. Thomas Fire, he worked to re-establish the Navy’s footprint and image in the Virgin Islands. He judged various local events in St. Thomas and St. Croix including Navy Sea Perch competitions, made appearances at community proceedings as a guest speaker, and volunteered his time tutoring and mentoring local youth.
Collins, a native of Jamaica Queens, N.Y., shared in Satenay’s reflection on the importance of staying connected to the surrounding area.
“The community here is very unified and you have to make sure that you are implanted in it, and are not an outsider,” said Collins.
Collins became a recruiter in St. Thomas at the end of 2016. He had just begun to acclimate to the practice of recruiting and immersed himself into the community when the arson took place.
“We are Navy representatives here, much more than recruiters,” said Collins. “We don’t want the community to only know us because we are trying to recruit them, we want them to know that we reside here too and care about the same things that they care about and have a vested interest in their well-being.”
After returning to St. Thomas with their newly acquired supplies, the recruiting team reached out to their building manager and fellow service members in hopes of securing a location to temporarily recruit.
“We are currently recruiting out of a temporary office located adjacent to our office that burned down and are still at the Nisky Center where the other services are also located,” said Collins. “EN1 [Satenay] and I managed to secure the space shortly after the devastation happened. Together, we corresponded with the management office to lock down the location. The Virgin Islands National Guard recruiters played a vital role in helping us. They gave us refuge for that day, which allowed us to put our heads together and figure out our next move.”
Recruiting in St. Thomas did not come without its own set of challenges prior to the arson. Tapped one of Navy Recruiting District Miami’s most difficult recruiting areas, only those Sailors with the right mix of skills and self-motivation are selected to work the territory.
“It takes an exceptional Sailor who possesses phenomenal drive and dedication to be the sole Recruiter for the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Lt. Jason Doan, NRD Miami assistant operations officer referring to Satenay’s time working by himself in St. Thomas. “Petty Officer Sataney was this Sailor and was given the utmost trust from the Chain of Command to accomplish the mission. With the unfortunate event of his recruiting station being completely burned down, his team overcame adversity and continued to push forward upholding the highest standards of honor, courage, and commitment. He continued to meet and exceed the mission with only a laptop and a government vehicle,” said Doan. “Petty Officer Satenay is truly an outstanding Sailor, whom all should strive to emulate.”
Despite the adversity the recruiting team has faced in the five months since the fire destroyed their station, they have continued to enjoy success executing the Navy’s recruiting mission.
“Operationally, our Sailors on the beautiful island haven’t missed a beat,” said Lt. Cmdr. Duke Louidor, NRD Miami Operations Officer. “Both Petty Officer Satenay and Petty Officer Collins continued to exceed the mission through their perseverance and hard work, amidst their circumstances. They stayed focus and took the necessary steps to operate as successful mobile recruiters and remained in the hunt for numerous annual recruiting awards. Although Petty Officer Satenay will soon transfer to his next duty station, Petty Officer Collins’ determination and no fail attitude will continue to safeguard the success of NRS St. Thomas for years to come,” said Louidor.
The St. Thomas recruiting team is part of NRD Miami’s Division 7, which consists of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territory assigned to the district spans 54,252 square miles in Florida, 3,515 square miles in Puerto Rico and 133 square miles in USVI. NRD Miami strives to recruit qualified male and female applicants into all current Navy programs, as officers and enlisted personnel.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2017 17:33 |
| Story ID: | 241446 |
| Location: | ST. THOMAS, VI |
| Web Views: | 339 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Life After Death of A Station: NRS St. Thomas Recruiters Thrive Despite Adversity, by SCPO Kimberly Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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