Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Pastrick | 180806-N-OS895-0003 Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) V-4 division...... read more read more
Subscribe
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer Benjamin Harral, from Spanish Springs, Nevada, enlisted in the United States Navy in 2015.
Harral’s decision to enlist in the Navy was not made individually. Originally, Harral decided to pursue a career in the Navy after discussing the idea with one of his close friends from Spanish Springs. They both agreed to sign a ‘buddy’ contract in the Navy’s Special Operations Warfare community. After his friend’s portion of the contract was dropped due to medical reasons, Harral’s contract was voided as well.
“It may sound cliché, but I really did join to serve and protect my country,” said Harral. “Anyone will tell you I’m a very patriotic person and proud of what I do.”
Knowing the chances of possibly not being able to fulfill his initial contract, Harral had chosen Aviation Boatswain’s Mate as his alternative rate for the Navy. After completing ‘A’ school, he reported onboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and was assigned to air department’s V-4 division.
Harral was quickly seen by his superiors and leadership to have great motivation and work ethic out on the deck plates and was transferred to Ford’s flight deck repair shop to continue his hard work and dedication. He is trusted with the maintenance and repair of the ship’s flight deck fueling stations, including Ford’s state-of-the-art fueling stations built into the flight deck itself.
“It’s a privilege to work in the fueling stations repair shop,” he said. “It gives you a lot of pride to know you’re entrusted with responsibility to do an important job and to be seen as a go-to person by your leadership.”
Harral has enjoyed his time serving in the Navy and feels accomplished in the work he has done thus far inside the AB community.
“My work is like anything else in life. It has its ups and downs, but I enjoy what I do. It can be stressful, but it’s all worth it.”
After finishing his contract, Harral plans to pursue another career in both military and community service. He will be enlisting into the Army National Guard while hopefully beginning a career in the country’s elite firefighters known as “Hot Shots.” These firefighters are trained to jump from aircraft behind a fire to prevent or stop wild fires from spreading and endangering others. Harral mentioned that this has been a goal of his for some time now and is excited for what the future has in store for him.
“I want to prove that even today you can be successful in life, even without a college degree, if you work hard and are dedicated to whatever you do.”
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is currently undergoing a 12-month Post-Shakedown Availability and maintenance period at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, following a testing and evaluation period.
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2018 08:01 |
| Story ID: | 287580 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ABH3 Benjamin Harral, Ford Division in the Spotlight Petty Officer in the Spotlight, by PO1 Jason Pastrick, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT