Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Megan Brannon | Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) newest Production Resources Officer, Capt. Jonathan Gandy.... read more read more
Having grown up on a farm in Guntersville, Alabama, Capt. Jonathan Gandy recounted how, as a teenager, he was anxious to leave and do something different. That desire to leave home took him to Annapolis, Maryland, and the Naval Academy, where he started his naval journey. Now, after multiple duty stations and becoming Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) newest Production Resources Officer, Gandy reflected on some of the duty stations that have impacted both his career and his personal life. The one that stands out the most, and that he considers home, is Hawaii, where he spent ten years at various commands, met his wife, and was birthplace to two of his four children.
Another tour that stands out is his time as the Repair Officer aboard the submarine tender, USS Frank Cable (AS 40), in Guam. "The sense of purpose and mission for me and my team was pretty top-notch," Gandy recalled. “We were working on submarines that were already deployed, and just a day or two away from being on mission, which was pretty spectacular.”
Gandy spent a portion of his career at two of the U.S. Navy's public shipyards before adding NNSY to his list in January 2024. Now that he has arrived at NNSY, Gandy is diving in with clear goals and a desire to complete the mission with excellence.
"In Code 900, we need to focus on two things," he stated. "Primary is to train, develop and coach the best mechanics, and second, to develop, qualify and coach the best supervisors. I think if we get those things right, and we're doing it earnestly, and we're spending our time teaching, supervising, and providing oversight at the right times, everything else falls into line after that."
During his time at Amazon on a Secretary of the Navy initiative called Tours with Industry, Gandy added additional words to an attitude and mindset he had already developed throughout his military career. One of those concepts was, “a bias for action.” This idea encourages a sense of direction and purpose in people's everyday activities. "I think a lot of times it's easy for us to say, 'well, we can wait until Monday or next week,' but that won't get our ships out on time, that won't get the Fleet ready to respond when the nation needs the Navy. So I would say, we need to have a bias for action. "
"We need to see ourselves as leaders all the way down to the mechanic," Gandy added. "We are the best at what we do. We need to make sure that what I mentioned earlier about that training, developing, coaching process is happening all the time to make sure that our people are the best at what they do and are leaders [in their area of influence]."
When asked what he hopes to accomplish in his time at NNSY, Gandy replied, "I've tried to build relationships where my team members can come to me saying, 'Hey Captain, this is what we intend to do' rather than the team that comes to me and says, 'Hey Captain, what do you want to do?'"
He added, "I want to build that team that is already proactive, that is already problem-solving, that is already thinking out into the future. The goal is to have a team that is biased for action - they are going out, and they are building their own best attempt at problem resolution. Very often, the team that is fully entrenched in that problem is the team that is best equipped to author and implement a solution to that problem."
While his tour at NNSY will be a busy one, Gandy plans to explore the local area with his family during his off hours. As this is his first tour on the East Coast, they intend to make the most of the natural and historical sites that are in abundance along the coast. NNSY extends a warm welcome to Capt. Gandy and his family and wishes him all the best as he assumes the duties of Code 900.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2024 10:57 |
| Story ID: | 465097 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | GUNTERSVILLE, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 435 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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