Photo By LaShawn Sykes | 210707-N-AC165-0020 (July 7, 2021) – Second Officer Alex Footman, assigned to USNS...... read more read more
Introduction: I was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1983 and became a dual citizen of Canada and the United States in 1994. After graduating high school in 2001, I worked in a variety of odd jobs before joining Military Sealift Command at 19 years old as an ordinary seaman in 2002. By October 2003, I received a temporary promotion to boatswain mate, placing me in charge of an underway replenishment station. After receiving a permanent promotion to boatswain mate, I pursued my US Coast Guard license to sail as an officer, attending the Able-bodied Seaman to Third Officer Upgrade program at Pacific Maritime Academy in Seattle, Wash., where I completed the condensed curriculum and sat for the Third Officer Open Ocean, Unlimited Tonnage license exam and passed it in November 2005.
Over the next 16 years, I continued to climb the ranks within MSC. Beginning in 2007 and for the next several years, as a third officer, I sailed on three classes of MSC’s Combat Logistics Force vessels – fleet replenishment oilers, fleet and ordnance dry cargo ships, and the fast combat ships. Sailing on the CLF ships is where I gained a multitude of experience as a watch officer. By 2011, I had gained the opportunity to work on a hybrid crewed ship with CIVMARs and US Navy personnel, when I served aboard the Emory S. Land-class submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS-40). This experience afforded me the opportunity to move my wife and son to the island of Guam – A chance of a lifetime. While still serving aboard Frank Cable, I received a permanent promotion to second officer as the navigator in May 2013 and then shortly thereafter transitioned to sailing as a cargo officer, responsible for the vessel’s crane program. Being in this position, I worked side by side with US Navy and foreign naval personnel in the maintenance and repair of the submarines tended by Frank Cable. Lastly, as cargo officer, I was in charge of briefing and overseeing the rearming of missiles and torpedoes, the transfer of weapons systems, periscopes, antennas, engine system components, and the movement of radioactive material. I departed USS Frank Cable and the special mission ship program in May 2020 and returned to an assignment aboard the CLF vessels to sail as a cargo officer
Living, what could be considered an American Dream, this 38-year old civil service mariner shares a few highlights of his 19-year career with Military Sealift Command.
What is your name, job title, and MSC ship assigned to?
My name is Alex Footman; I am the second officer assigned to the USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193).
When did you join MSC, and what is unique about your job aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
In June 2002, one month after my 19th birthday, I joined Military Sealift Command as an ordinary seaman. By January 2003, I was sailing high as an able-bodied seaman. Ten months later, I was temporarily promoted to boatswain mate, in charge of my own UNREP station. At the tender age of 21, I was keenly aware that I was leading crew members who had been sailing longer than I had been alive – a very humbling and awakening experience.
I thoroughly enjoy what is considered to be MSC’s bread and butter, the fast paced, mission driven UNREP environment, supporting the U.S. Navy fleet on a global scale.
What type of military training or education have you taken to prepare you to work aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
I grew up in Vancouver, Canada and became a duel American and Canadian citizen in 1994. After graduating high school, I toiled around without any real direction for a year, until my parents helped with refocusing my direction. With their support, I began acquiring all of the U.S. Coast Guard’s required documentation and credentialing needed to sail at sea. Once credentialed in April 2002, I initially attempted to work for supply vessel companies in the Gulf of Mexico before being hired by Military Sealift Command as an ordinary seaman.
What does a typical day look like for you aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
Currently, aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl, the operational tempo of a second officer is a fast paced, repair based mission. With ship repairs increasing and ever-changing, I interact daily with a variety of disciplines from within MSC such as contractors and engineers, entities external to MSC such as the U.S. Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, Naval Station Norfolk, and Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Norfolk, as well as other CIVMARs from the other departments found onboard Diehl.
What is the best thing about working aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
It has broadened my experience base, building my understanding of the repair process MSC vessels must undergo. Today, I have a fuller appreciation of MSC’s fleet replenishment repair processes and am now able to apply that knowledge to my work aboard Diehl, in a real tangible way. Likewise, being knowledgeable of the repair processes, along with the personnel involved in the repair process from the many different entities external and internal to MSC, gives me foresight into not only knowing how to recognize the hurdles ahead but also how to overcome them in order to get Diehl the justified attention she needs to remain operational and continue servicing the fleet.
What is the most challenging part of your work aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
The ability to remain flexible and have a contingency plan in place for the unexpected issues that arise aboard an MSC vessel can be quite challenging. Experience, however, has taught me that planning and communicating early and often are critical components to successfully navigating in unchartered areas. In doing so, the unexpected problem becomes the half-expected problem and therefore much easier to solve.
Because USNS Walter S. Diehl comes with its own unique circumstances and challenges, I have moved away from the traditional role of a cargo officer and have become more involved in the operational maintenance and repair of ship’s equipment. For my background as a licensed deck officer, who started as an ordinary seaman, having not attended a traditional maritime college or academy to earn my officer’s license, I am quite proud of my work experience. It is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than a college degree in this field. Having real work experience has given me knowledge that books sometimes can’t provide and given me insight into considerations when making leadership decisions.
What is your most favorite memory at sea?
You can’t ask me to choose just one. I’ve seen grey whales breaching at sunrise in the Bay of Panama and dolphins swimming through bioluminescence off the bow of a destroyer, while conducting an UNREP at night in the Indian Ocean. In the Arabian Gulf, I’ve looked upon oil rigs lighting up the sky, making the sky look like a 360-degree sunset. In the operating areas off of North Carolina, standing as rig captain, I’ve watched an aircraft carrier make its approach alongside a CLF ship during rainy weather conditions, with huge waves crashing off its bow. Asking me to pick just one, would be an injustice to all the others.
What would you tell someone who is interested in joining MSC and working aboard USNS Walter S. Diehl?
There are pros and cons to every choice you can make. Working for MSC is the opportunity you make of it. Don’t let one ship, one crew, one coast or one job make your impression of MSC. You may find a ship and want to stay on for a long time, you may want to get off and try another. There is no telling when the moments you will remember forever will be upon you, but if you stick with it long enough, working at sea with MSC will gain you the opportunities to see and experience things a large majority of the world will never have the opportunity to experience. So, keep your head down, work hard, but don’t forget to look up, from time to time, and realize what you have around you. You might be quite amazed at what’s in front of you.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2021 11:47 |
| Story ID: | 401291 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 266 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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