Photo By Gregory White | 191015-N-RB391-0009- Retail Service Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Grabow poses for an...... read more read more
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RALEIGH N.C. -- Retail Service Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Grabow works to change lives. Grabow joined the United States Navy in June 2012 from the Cary North Carolina recruiting station where he now works as the Lead Talent Scout.
“I didn’t join the Navy until I was 21,” said Grabow. “I started going to college because that’s what my parents wanted me to do. They thought that was best so I went with their guidance. A couple years in, I discovered college just wasn’t for me.”
When Grabow decided he was going to join the service, he chose the Navy because his father and grandparents all served in the Navy.
He started off his career as an undesignated seaman assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). He met the ship in Bahrain for a deployment. Following that initial deployment, Grabow was able to select a rate in the Navy. He chose retail service specialist (RS) because it coincided with the degree he was pursuing in business management.
During his first three years in the Navy, Grabow deployed twice and visited a vast number of places including Bahrain, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Djibouti, Seychelles and Italy.
“My first real fun liberty port was Bergen, Norway,” said Grabow. “We were there for 10 days. During those 10 days we did a lot of sightseeing and traveling and really got to experience the culture. Norway was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It looked straight out of the pictures. Seriously, it reminded me of the town in the Disney movie Frozen. I’ve never seen anything like it. After that we went to Scotland, which was like a turning point in my life because I never knew fish and chips were actually fish and french fries. I always assumed it was fish served with actual potato chips.”
Before negotiating for recruiting duty at Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Carolina, Grabow was also assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). He participated in a number of operations aside from deployments such as antipiracy missions, Navy Fleet Weeks, and a Joint Warrior Exercise.
Despite his experiences in the fleet, or maybe because of them, Grabow wanted to do something more for others. He chose to become a Navy recruiter and reported to Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit in 2018 in route to NTAG Carolina - from where he joined.
“The Navy has given me everything,” said Grabow. “I do put my all into it but I’ve gotten so much out of the Navy. I want to be able to help people get exactly what I was able to get. One of the first people that I was talking to and helped get into the Navy, they were not in the best situation. I’ll just leave it at that. After talking to this individual, I just really wanted to help him. Fortunately I was able to. We got him a contract and ever since boot camp this guy has thanked me nearly every day.”
Shortly after putting that individual in the Navy Grabow said he put his younger brother in the Navy.
“He was living here in North Carolina working at a bar and he just wasn’t fulfilled,” said Grabow. “When I would tell him stories about my life in the Navy, his eyes sparkled with wonder. He finally decided, he wanted to be a part of it and he is so happy he did. I want to be able to give that feeling to everyone I talk to that wants this.”
Grabow said the biggest hurdle he has is that people tend not to believe his story because it sounds too good to be true.
“It isn’t,” said Grabow. “We live in an age of information. It’s all at our fingertips. Anyone who sits down with me for 5 minutes I can show them the proof and dispel all the myths they’ve heard.”
At the end of this year, Navy Recruiting Command will consist of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 26 NTAGs and 64 Talent Acquisition Onboarding Centers (TAOCs) that will serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations around the world. Their mission is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2020 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 384221 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 322 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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