Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Camilo E Fernan | Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Spencer Fling poses for a portrait photo at...... read more read more
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Meet MC1 Spencer Fling! Fling is a #MassCommunicationSpecialist currently serving as the #RecruitTrainingCommand #PublicAffairs LPO at the U.S. Navy's only #BootCamp.
“Growing up, I was blessed to have a father that was very involved in my life. I wanted to be the man he was when I came of age. I told him that once, and he said that if he is does his job as a father, I could grow beyond him. That mentality of caring about those around you and wanting to make them better always stuck with me.”
Fling’s father served in the Navy on subs and Fling wanted to follow in his footsteps coming out of high school but instead, he took the long road and didn’t join until he was 28-years-old.
“I was married with two kids, had a mortgage, a solid job and then one day the job was gone. It was a smaller town, so there weren’t a lot of great options. I was in JROTC in high school, which I loved, and I always wanted to be a Sailor, but I thought it was too late. My wife really pushed me to pursue it and make it a reality. I’m so lucky to have her.”
When choosing a rate at MEPS, he was offered a job he didn’t know existed.
“The detailer said ‘Oh wow, MC! You better take this one, I never see it.’ If I knew then what I know now, I would have jumped up and screamed yes! That day changed my life.”
During his seven years in the Navy, MC1 has had many unique opportunities to tell the Navy’s story around the world, but credits any successes to others in the field who have invested in him.
“I’ve had so many people in my rate, media industry professionals, and from the military program at Syracuse University that have poured their knowledge into me. My sea mom, Senior Chief Leah Stiles, would always say ‘pass on the knowledge as freely as it was given,’ and I feel like now that mantra is my charge moving forward. I want to give back what I have learned to as many Sailors as I can before my watch is up.”
Fling’s extensive training has paid dividends during his time at RTC. The RTC PAO team was recently recognized as the best public affairs shop in the Navy and MC1 Fling was named the Navy’s Communicator of the Year.
“Three years ago, MC billets didn’t exist at RTC so the whole team came in at the same. It was a bare bones operation when we arrived. We didn’t even have gear to do what was being asked, so we had to build everything up from zero. Remembering where we started to now, being recognized as a top team during the very tough year of COVID operations, it is a special thing to be have been a part of.”
RTC has one of the largest social media presences in the Navy with a never-ending amount of stories to tell with roughly 40,000 recruits training annually and more than 1,200 staff members working on site.
“I’ve learned that there is a huge hunger for anything that comes out of this place. I’ve seen photos that I took, that to me are things I see every day, end up published on major news outlets and on sites all over the internet. Everyone wants to see what goes on at boot camp and they can never get enough.”
While there are many events that MC1 covers at RTC, there is one that stands out to him.
“The graduation ceremonies before COVID were probably about as good as it gets for a photographer. There was so much over-the-top pageantry and I loved it covering it every single week. When liberty call happened and the new sailors got to embrace their loved ones, Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall was probably the happiest place on the planet for five minutes. Every time I shot it, I got emotional myself because it reminded me of all the people in my life that have put love into me on my journey. I really look forward to getting back to those types of graduations in the future.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2021 17:13 |
| Story ID: | 399099 |
| Location: | CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruit Training Command Staff in the Spotlight, by PO1 Camilo E Fernan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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