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    Women Who Win: CAPT Kimberly Jones

    NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

    03.03.2023

    Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Samantha Alaman 

    USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)   

    “I just answered the mail, and here I am over 20 years later,” said Capt. Kimberly Jones, head of the Reactor Department aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), almost as if she were in disbelief of the simplicity that started her illustrious naval career.
    Jones was a junior in college at Tuskegee University majoring in mechanical engineering when she received an advertisement in the mail.
    “I received the flier for the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program,” recalled Jones. “I had done a couple of internships and a co-op, and I had realized the traditional engineering path wasn’t for me.”
    It was that moment which set Jones on her path to become the first African American woman in the Navy to hold the designator of reactor officer. Jones became a commissioned officer after graduating from Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida in 2001 and has served aboard six ships.
    She credits the longevity of her career to having fun with the job and the amazing people she worked alongside.
    “I said I would keep doing it while it was fun, and I’m still having fun,” said Jones. “The opportunity to do something different is why I started. Every tour, every job is an opportunity to do something different, and I have absolutely enjoyed every day.”
    As the reactor officer, she presides over 450 Sailors responsible for the operation of the nuclear reactors on IKE. Throughout her career, she’s became the main propulsion assistant on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), the operations officer aboard USS Ford (FFG 54), and the executive officer and captain of the USS Tortuga (LSD 46).
    Jones said she looks back on her years of service with fondness, saying she’s been amazingly blessed over the past 20-plus years.
    “I just think about every supervisor, manager, department head, and captain that I’ve worked for. They’ve been phenomenal. They were mentors to me, even if they didn’t know it,” she said with a laugh. “I patterned different things after them. I learned from them and just picked up certain things along the way.”
    Jones has experienced a milestone career, and is aware of the historical impact of her accomplishments.
    She stated that she hasn’t run into a true obstruction or barrier due to her gender and acknowledges that this is not the case for every female Sailor; officer or enlisted, she said. She believes that perseverance is key to grabbing a seat at the table.
    “Don’t give up,” said Jones. “I would advise junior Sailors, particularly women, to not give up! There is a place for you. The policies that have evolved over the last two decades ensure it. Any of the challenges you are facing, whether it is stability, family planning, all of those things with investigation and negotiation, you can figure your way through.”
    Jones’ military journey began at her mailbox in Alabama and gave her the chance to travel all over the United States and across the world. From her first ship in Sasebo, Japan to the Might IKE in Virginia, rising through the ranks from ensign to captain, and as the first African American female reactor officer, she has not only stamped her name in the pages of history but forged a path for inspired sailors to follow in her footsteps.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.03.2023
    Date Posted: 03.23.2023 17:46
    Story ID: 440754
    Location: NORFOLK, VA, US

    Web Views: 14
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN