Photo By Debbie Dortch | Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) military personnel from Naval Support Activity...... read more read more
While Cumberland County, Pennsylvania remains the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth, few know or understand that within this Central Pennsylvania county is a Navy Command that impacts Sailors across the globe, from the food they eat, to the mail they receive, to the supplies a ship needs to remain at sea for months at a time so they can be ready to fight if needed.
Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) is headquartered in Mechanicsburg at Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg just 15 minutes west of Harrisburg. In addition to the nearly 700 headquarters employees are about 2,000 additional employees working at two of NAVSUP’s 11 sub-commands.
And, while the majority of employees are civilians who are dedicated to the Navy’s mission, the total cadre of employees is complemented with more than 160 officer and enlisted members, including two-star Rear Adm. Kenneth Epps, and one-star Rear Adm. Matthew N. Ott.
But, Saturday, Dec. 16 wasn’t all about a Navy command in the middle of Pennsylvania, it was about eight military personnel from NAVSUP, along with other military counterparts in the region, stepping forward to volunteer to be judges for the day’s Chambersburg Regional Drill Competition qualifying meet. Dec. 16 was about commitment to youth in our community and their futures. And, it was about allowing high school students to demonstrate their honor, courage, and commitment to mental strength, teamwork, and moral grounding.
Chambersburg Area Senior High School (CASHS) U.S. Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) cadets hosted fellow cadets Dec. 16 from nine other high schools from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey to compete for an opportunity to be selected for the NJROTC Northeast Area Championship competition to be held Jan. 27 at Passaic High School in New Jersey. Among the nine categories in which Dec. 16 competitors were judged include color guard, physical fitness, armed & unarmed exhibition drill, and academics. The top schools in the New Jersey regional championship will go on to the national NJROTC championship meet in Florida in April 2024.
Fortunately for CASHS NJROTC, their cadets already won a spot to compete in the Jan. 27 meet at a New Jersey competition held Nov. 18. CASHS NJROTC cadets will be working diligently over the next weeks to perfect their moves and knowledge to be able to capture the win in late January.
Overseeing the CASHS NJROTC is retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Bruce Apgar. “I really enjoy it. It's a great way to work with youth helping shape some of the future leaders of America. My biggest goal here is to make sure all these kids graduate from high school. So, just focusing on getting them to graduate and the ones wanting to go to college, get them on a college track, try to get them aligned with a scholarship or a service academy and the ones who will be going to careers, trying to help them connect with the right careers.”
“I like that we have a lot of military members that decided to come,” said CASHS Senior Paris Dennis. I think a lot of people in our community don’t really understand what the military does or what they’re all about. And, I feel, as a country, we should really be bringing more military members into schools because they’ve been really good role models for a lot of our students, including myself.”
“Today, I’m volunteering so that I can set an example for these students. I wanted to make sure we had some female representation here so [female students] can see that things are different now…and I’m seeing a lot of them in leadership positions, which is fabulous,” said NAVSUP Ammunition Logistics Center Cmdr. Kristen Vechinski.
Apgar noted, “It's not necessarily that you're trying to get them all in the military, but they need to learn other things. So, our goal is to help build citizenship responsibility, to help build better citizens.”
Sophomore Vallery Cetoute, in his second year in the CASHS NJROTC program, said he likes the program, specifically what he’s learned about “leadership, principles, manners, and how to look presentable.” He added that he appreciated the Navy volunteers “taking their time to come help. I see their leadership skills.”
NAVSUP Command Master Chief CMDCM Mark. Schlosser said, “Phenomenal opportunity to connect with the JROTC elements in the area and provide first-hand knowledge to those anticipating entering the military. Great to see our youth compete at these venues in like with military honors and ceremonies details, along with physical readiness and uniform inspections.”
“Just seeing the discipline they have, the movements, the crispness… [I]t’s awesome to see this generation being part of a collective with all that discipline,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kristina Parmenter, future plans specialist in NAVSUP Headquarters.
“JROTC brings structure, leadership opportunity. It really helps with their academics, too, because they have to maintain a certain GPA. It gives them camaraderie and that fellowship, especially for students that might not have that at home or have those resources available,” Vechinski said.” It gives them an outlet and an opportunity to build networks early on and gives them a sense of pride they can take with them, whether it’s college or any other opportunity they pursue."
“When I was younger, I wasn’t really confident. I didn’t have a lot of people to look up to. JROTC has definitely helped boost my confidence. I learned a lot of discipline. I learned that sometimes things aren’t going to go the way you want them, but the outcome is what you make of it. So, if you keep a positive outlook on everything you do, you can always make positivity out of something. It’s very important to me,” emphasized Dennis.
“The NJROTC program here in Chambersburg, we are a solid part of this community. Last year we contributed over 3,000 hours of community service to the Franklin County area,” Apgar added. “We are a definite, solid part of this community, but what I see it happening in the community is helping to provide responsible adults, get people out who will go out and take care of themselves when they graduate, take care of their families. I think it just becomes a way to connect the kids and their families to their education and to their community.”
NAVSUP is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 25,000 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP, along with Navy Supply Corps officers and supply enlisted personnel deliver sustained global logistics and quality-of-life support to the Navy and Joint warfighter. NAVSUP manages supply chains that provide material for Navy aircraft, surface ships, submarines and their associated weapons systems. From centralized inventory management for Navy's non-nuclear ordnance stockpile to a wide range of base operating and waterfront logistics support services, to coordinating material deliveries, contracting for supplies and services, and providing material management and warehousing services, NAVSUP is poised to contribute to the defense of our Nation. NAVSUP is responsible for many of the quality-of-life programs that touch the lives of Sailors and their families every day, including Navy Exchanges, Navy Lodges, and the Navy Postal System. NAVSUP administers the Navy Food Service Program, with responsibility for the policies and procedures that govern the day-to-day operations of general messes afloat and ashore. In addition, NAVSUP facilitates green procurement, reduces plastic waste on ships, and is a critical component to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief for victims of hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, and earthquakes. NAVSUP personnel Navy business experts and are proud of the work they do in concert with logistics partners and allied nations.
Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsup. Find out about civilian employment at https://linkedin.com/company/naval-supply-systems-command, www.usajobs.gov or email NAVSUPHQYourFuture@us.navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 12.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.21.2023 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 460603 |
| Location: | CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, What NAVSUP military can do for mid-Atlantic JROTC cadets, by Debbie Dortch, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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