From Great Falls, Montana to Diego Garcia: Two Navy Captains on Small Town Values

GREAT FALLS, MT, UNITED STATES

08.05.2020

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jillian Grady 

U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia

Great Falls is a small city of 58,701 people in Montana, located on the Missouri River. It averages 58 inches of snow per year. Its main attractions include the C.M. Russell Museum, the Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail, Giant Springs State Park, and First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. It is also where both CAPT. Joel G. Stewart and CAPT. Blake Tornga, two Navy commanding officers stationed on Diego Garcia, are from.
“Small towns like [Great Falls] are just special,” said Tornga.
Stewart said that in Great Falls people can conduct a million dollar deal with a handshake.
“I bought my first car literally with a handshake,” he explained. “I hadn’t even been to the bank yet, but the car was sold, and I drove off with it.”
On July 17, 2020, Stewart took over as Commander, Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron (COMPSRON) Two, a tenant command onboard Navy Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia where Tornga is the commanding officer.
During the change of command ceremony, Tornga read Stewart’s biography and saw that he was also a native of Great Falls. Tornga said he was excited to see that Stewart shared his Montana roots.
Tornga said that communication between the two of them has been great so far. He credits this in part to their shared background.
“That connection, and that baseline of knowing what to expect because of the values we had growing up, does establish that connection and rapport,” said Stewart. “We’ve had open and clear communication almost daily.”
Tornga and Stewart both credit the values they learned growing up in Montana as important in helping them become the Navy leaders they are today.
“Honesty, individual dignity, respect, Montanans are fiercely independent and incredibly accepting,” Stewart said about some of the values he learned growing up. “People tended to be judged on their individual character rather than on how they looked or dressed.”
Both Stewart and Tornga said the people of Great Falls value self-responsibility and self-reliance.
“You give a Montana country boy a couple tools and he’ll build you a tractor that will go on to produce bread, not just wheat, but it’ll be bread. And he’ll produce some butter. And somebody will have some bees that will produce honey,” said Tornga about how self-reliant people from Montana can be.
Tornga explained how because in Montana people start driving, working, and using firearms at young ages, they tend to become very responsible and independent. Montana teenagers often work on farms and do manual labor.
In addition to independence and responsibility, Stewart said that people from Montana are very friendly.
In Montana, drivers of pickup trucks greet each other with what Tornga referred to as the one finger, two finger, or full hand wave.
“I got to Diego Garcia, and I got a pickup assigned and, almost like Montana, everyone waves to each other,” said Tornga. “It was pretty natural to wave like I’m in Montana when I’m going down DG One.”
When Stewart and Tornga were children, car license plates used to start with the number of the county the driver was from. Stewart and Tornga joked about how they would always know if a driver was a long way from home.
“Every car that went past, you would know where they were from,” said Stewart.
Like cars passing by on a country road, Stewart and Tornga are in opposite places on their tours in Diego Garcia. Stewart just came onboard, while Tornga is about to leave.
Stewart’s goals for his time on island include managing morale during the COVID-19 pandemic, focus on the mission, and improving mission readiness.
Tornga hopes that he has used his time as commanding officer well, and the policies he has put in place will allow for the mission to continue. He’s worked hard to ensure the island is protected from the pandemic.
Although they have spent their careers far from home, in Diego Garcia and many other duty stations, Montana will always be a special place for Tornga and Stewart.
I’m very proud of where I’ve come from,” said Tornga. “The things that I’ve been able to do are because of where I’m from.”
Stewart agreed with Tornga. He said that the values, along with the great public schools in Montana have helped him be successful.
“My success in the Navy, and the reason that I have stayed in the Navy, is because of the values and my background from Montana,” said Stewart. “Individualism, self-reliance, but also belonging and being a part of a team.”
Tornga and Stewart both miss Montana. Their upbringings have helped make them into the Sailors and the leaders they are today. Although being in the Navy takes them around the world, they’ll always be Montanans.

• Date Taken: 08.05.2020
• Date Posted: 08.05.2020 00:54
• Story ID: 375287
• Location: GREAT FALLS, MT, US