Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten | 220902-N-GR655-0125 GROTON, Conn. (September 2, 2022) – Byrne Blumer, ombudsman for...... read more read more
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GROTON, Connecticut -- A USS San Juan (SSN 751) spouse has been selected as the 2022 Mrs. Stockdale Ombudsman of the Year for U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF), competing with over 800 commands for the top honor.
Mrs. Byrne Blumer, a native of Trumbull, Connecticut, has been in the ombudsman seat for San Juan since April 2020 and credits her nomination to the hardships and successes for both the crew and families during the early stages of the COVID pandemic.
“The boat deployed in 2020 when there were no mask mandates,” Blumer recalled. “And when they returned, the base had a mask mandate, so I coordinated with a local organization that made 200 masks in 48 hours for the crew.”
The mask campaign was just one of dozens of examples of Blumer’s steadfast support of the command and families included in her nomination, which was initially submitted by San Juan’s then-commanding officer Cmdr. Douglas Sattler and endorsed all the way through U.S. Submarine Forces Atlantic Chief of Staff Capt. Andrew Miller, who called Blumer “truly exceptional” in a hand-written note on his endorsement.
Sattler praised Blumer’s accomplishments while serving as ombudsman through two deployments and associated workups – which included five childbirths – in a COVID environment, while simultaneously navigating a full-time job and raising three children of her own.
“She always remained focused and professional, ensuring the sailors were notified,” Sattler said. “She sought out creative ways to address the concerns of families.”
Although Blumer remained readily available to answer countless phone calls and emails from spouses and family members, it was the videoconference meetings she credits with bringing the San Juan community together.
“The interesting thing COVID did for our families was it expanded our network,” Blumer explained. “Two years ago, we really just had local Groton families involved, and the Zoom world gave us the ability to connect with families in Utah or Hawaii or overseas.”
Blumer said the crew and families recently started in-person events and “it was like everybody already knew each other.”
This “expanded network” included Andi Snedden, a parent of a San Juan sailor, who initially did not know anything about the submarine community or how to communicate with her son.
“I found a Facebook page for the San Juan FRG [Family Readiness Group],” Snedden said in a statement letter detailing her first interaction with Blumer via Zoom. “As a parent, this gave me peace of mind knowing that I had a personal resource I could go to for questions, concerns, or an emergency situation.”
Snedden added that Blumer was able to contact her son during family emergency while the San Juan was underway, which resulted in her son calling within the hour.
“We get the call when babies are born, but we also get the call when people unfortunately pass away or are injured or all of the above,” Blumer said of her ombudsman training and experience.
Another former San Juan parent, Vikki Kempker, wanted to be at their son’s homecoming event, but couldn’t plan for the dates due to operations security, scheduling changes, and quarantine mandates at the time.
“She was responsive, kind, supportive, and able to contact me when she knew info she could share,” Kempker said. “I am so grateful for Byrne! She understood my role as a mom.”
For Julia Belding, current girlfriend of a San Juan Sailor, she recalled a lot of anxiety among the FRG in response to a recent short-notice deployment.
“Byrne noticed this and immediately set up a Zoom call to address any concerns and talk through popular questions,” Belding said. “Without her, the energy of the FRG would be entirely off.”
Blumer also overhauled the command’s newsletter, organized homecoming and deployment briefs, attended monthly assemblies and trainings, and developed a Navy Parent 101 course alongside the Fleet and Family Services Center, a curriculum designed to train and familiarize new parents on Navy life and resources.
Apart from her volunteer ombudsman responsibilities, Blumer works as a sales manager for an automotive finance company. Blumer studied business administration and played softball at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. As a native of Connecticut, she met her husband Andrew while he was attending “A” School in Groton, Connecticut. Andrew Blumer, a native of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, is currently a sonar technician assigned to San Juan. The couple have three kids together, aged six, three and 10 months, and enjoy “taking the kids to pools, playgrounds, and zoos or aquariums.”
The Mrs. Stockdale Ombudsman of the Year Award is inspired by Mrs. Sybil Stockdale, who “set an unflagging example for her support for families of other prisoners of war during the seven year internment in Southeast Asia of her husband, Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale,” from Navy administrative message NAVADMIN 035/22 signed by director of Navy staff Mr. Andrew S. Haeuptle.
U.S. Fleet Forces selected Blumer as their nomination from a pool of five type commands (TYCOMs), which includes 841 commands. The USFF award is one of four Navy ombudsman awards given annually alongside Pacific Fleet Command, Navy Reserve Force Command, and all Navy ashore activities.
The USS San Juan was commissioned August 6, 1988 and is the second U.S. warship named after the capital city of Puerto Rico. It is 362 feet long with a beam of 33 feet and a crew of approximately 139. The ship operates under Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 12, whose mission is to provide attack submarines that are ready, willing, and able to meet the unique challenges of undersea combat and deployed operations in unforgiving environments across the globe.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2022 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 425802 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 875 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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