Photo By LaShawn Sykes | LTJG Tichina Carmon earned her Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia pin during a...... read more read more
NORFOLK, Va. (April 28, 2022) I was born and raised in Greenville, N.C. After graduating from D.H. Conley High School in 2013, I attended New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico, a one-year preparatory school for the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. In 2018, I graduated from MMA with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering. Currently, I am serving in the U.S. Navy Reserves as a lieutenant junior grade (LTJG) Strategic Sealift Officer (SSO).
What is your name, title, and what role do you serve as a Strategic Sealift Officer with Military Sealift Command?
I am Tichina Carmon. I am a lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy Reserves. I hold a second assistant engineer's license with Military Sealift Command, where I am responsible for machinery and equipment repair, routine maintenance, testing and treatment, and safe monitoring of equipment.
As an SSO, it is vital that I maintain and upgrade my license; so that I can continue, without interruption, providing support to the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of MSC operations. Likewise, this allows me the chance to develop my career, carry out my service obligation, and fulfill the SSO’s obligation to MSC.
When did you join the MSC team, and what is unique about supporting the command?
In July 2019, I joined the MSC team as a refrigeration engineer. Over the last three years, I have continued to hone my craft by working aboard a variety of MSC ships and ship classes. In doing so, it has helped me to sharpen my engineering skills and capabilities. My ultimate goal is to be a well-rounded engineer.
How does your role in your current job assist with MSC’s mission as an SSO?
A part of the Strategic Sealift Officer force, my main responsibility is to support the needs of MSC. As the primary supported command, MSC supervises the care, development, and employment of the SSO community. This is an effort to optimize our utilization and familiarize of the force with MSC’s operations and practices.
Why are SSOs the right fit for sealift voyages?
While on orders, SSOs provide subject matter expertise in marine engineering, operations, and logistics. What is unique about SSOs is we provide the capability for emergency crewing and shore-side support of Military Sealift Command’s Surge Sealift Fleet, Ready Reserve’s response to the country’s national defense, in peacetime and in times of national emergency.
What will your first assignment be as a newly pinned SSO?
SSOs have Annual Duty Training exercises that utilizes their skill set afloat in shipyards and in ports. During my next ADT, I will further my skill development onboard roll-on/roll-off cargo ship MV Cape Race (T-AKR 9960). Since receiving my Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia pin April 28, I anticipate receiving more opportunities to serve aboard MSC ships.
What is the best thing about being an SSO for MSC?
Being an SSO provides me with the opportunity to see the intricacies of MSC that I do not have a chance to see as a civil service mariner. Serving as an SSO affords me the opportunity to better understand the administrative side of MSC; so that when I step back into my leadership role with the command, I am able to be a buffer between the two.
What would you tell anyone interested in joining MSC as an SSO?
It is an amazing experience, and the opportunities are endless. You can go as far as you are willing to push yourself. To do so, it is important to always remember first to maintain an open mind, and then second to understand and accept that things may not always go your way.
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2022 12:35 |
| Story ID: | 420457 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 903 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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