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CHICAGO — Regardless of the benefits associated with joining the Navy, it is natural for some Future Sailors to experience some apprehension about raising their right hand and taking the oath of enlistment. The idea of boot camp can seem overwhelming, not to mention the assumption that once Future Sailors board that bus, they have to leave their individuality behind.
Chief Navy Career Counselor (Recruiter) Dominique Anderson, the division leading chief petty officer (DLCPO) of NTAG Great Lakes’ division two, had those same initial fears. However, he has found the opposite to be true. Anderson, who is originally from Chicago, said his love for music, and his ability to sing and perform, which were such a big part of his life before the Navy, have been enhanced instead of suppressed.
“I was afraid that since I’m joining the military, this music thing was over,’” said Anderson. “I joined right out of high school. I had gotten accepted into my school of choice, and I was going to go to the school and be part of their chorus program, and the money just wasn’t there. Ultimately, I ended up talking to a Navy recruiter. I kind of thought by joining, I would lose the ability to be as involved with music, but I found early on in my naval career that wasn’t the case.”
After joining the Navy as a Machinist’s Mate, Anderson spent five years working in reactor division on board the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
“I was stationed in California for my first tour, and it was there that I got into singing R&B music, singing in night clubs and putting on different shows throughout California at local bars and stuff like that,” said Anderson. “From there, my relationship with God was growing, and that’s when on board the Nimitz I became the choir director for the church services.”
Anderson would soon learn that his musical abilities and the Navy would take him places he never expected.
“I left the Nimitz and went to NRD (Navy Recruiting District) New York,” he said. “That’s where singing the national anthem came about. I had never done it for any ceremonies. Had never thought about doing it. I got to New York, and during my initial check in, they asked me my short-term and long-term goals. I said I would like to sing the anthem at a large sporting event. It was right before Chief’s pinning. They asked me if I could sing at the pinning and I accepted. They were excited, but the funny part is no one had ever heard me sing. We get to the event, a couple of minutes before, and they were like, ‘Hey, can we actually hear you sing?’ From there, I went from singing at the command to going to different events, and then finally, I got invited to do the national anthem at a big track and field event.”
Anderson enjoyed changing people’s lives while recruiting in New York, so he converted into the Navy’s Career Recruiting Force. He completed a tour at NRD Chicago before transferring to NRD Atlanta. And then the COVID pandemic started.
“COVID happened, and we were looking for ways to spread Navy awareness,” said Anderson. “Being locked in a house, I didn’t know anything else to do, other than to start coming up with creative things. I came up with the Recruiters With Bars challenge. My goal was to teach recruiters that whatever your thing is, whatever your personality is, lean toward that, and show people that side of you. I knew we had a lot of talented people in the Navy. I wanted to start by showing my talent in order to encourage other people to show theirs.”
Anderson transferred back to NTAG Great Lakes last year, and he has continued to use music to enhance his life and hopefully bring joy to others. Even though he loves music and enjoys sharing it with others, he recently discovered that it won’t be his career after his time in the Navy is done.
“Being back home in Chicago, I’m back in my church,” he said. “My love is singing in the worship services, and offering that to people. However, I found I don’t want music as a career. When I first started, I saw it as an opportunity to make money and eventually began losing the love that I had for it. It was a different kind of thing, like a chore. And I love music! My wife gets on me all the time because I’ll sing a sentence, or she’ll ask me a question, and I'll make a song out of it. I want to continue to just do that and do what I do in the church.”
Anderson wants anyone thinking about joining the Navy to remember that they don’t have to leave themselves and their identity behind when they join.
“Don’t feel like you have to give up on that dream or that hobby,” he said. “That’s where I was being young. I didn’t see at the time just how many doors it could open up for me, and just the relationships that could be built from it. I appreciate the Navy for those opportunities.”
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2022 14:12 |
| Story ID: | 426632 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 348 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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