Souda Spolight - Boatwain's Mate 3rd Class Teshaun Troyquash

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelly M Agee | NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece (Nov. 20, 2020) Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Teshaun Troyquash ties a line onto a port operations boat at the NATO Marathi Pier, Nov. 20, 2020. Troyquash, a native of Hampton, Va., has been in the Navy for five years and three months and at NSA Souda Bay for a year and six months. NSA Souda Bay is an operational ashore base that enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to be where they are needed when they are needed to ensure security and stability in Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelly M. Agee/Released)  

GREECE

12.07.2020

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelly M Agee 

U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay

Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Teshaun Troyquash, from Hampton, Va., said he joined the Navy to travel the world. He has been in the Navy for five years and three months and at NSA Souda Bay for a year and six months. He currently works in the Port Operations department where he helps with boat reports, conducts boatswain’s mate training and places booms around ships.

What do you do day-to-day as a boatswain’s mate?

Mondays are the busiest days. We have to go down to Marathi and do the boat reports, we check them to make sure that they are accurate and that the boats don’t have any discrepancies and are running properly … we also have to clean the boats in the pier. When it is slow we conduct boatswain’s mate training … we go over anchoring, mooring, towing, dealing with lines and teach how to tie knots … mainly the square knots and bowline knots since those are the knots we use while performing evolutions such as tying up to fenders and booms. On days when a ship comes in we go out in our boats and we put an orange boom around the ship and secure it, making sure that if the ship spills oil that it will be contained.

Why did you choose to be a boatswain’s mate?
I wanted to be able to drive the ship, be a crane operator and perform weld deck operations.


What is your favorite thing about your job?

I like getting to work with local nationals … it is interesting to learn about their culture, also they have been teaching me Greek. We work with them when we have ship movements, some of them help with the pulling in of a ship and some of them help with putting the boom around the ship. They are really helpful.

Any advice for people wanting to pursue BM as a rate?

Don’t rush with your qualifications, take your time learning all you need to know about it before moving on to the next one. If you rush, and then get tasked with heading an evolution and you don’t fully understand what needs to be done, someone could get hurt.

What do you do during your off time?

I like to play video games. I own a PlayStation, X-box and a Nintendo Switch. My favorite type of games are RPGs (role-playing games), sports and fighting games. I play Warzone online a lot, it is challenging because you are playing against other people and it is cross platform game, so you are playing against PC users as well. But, it is fun because you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

• Date Taken: 12.07.2020
• Date Posted: 12.10.2020 05:07
• Story ID: 384627
• Location: GR