Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Justus Cheng | Machinist Mate 1st Class Trenton Passey, a Navy reservist assigned to SurgeMain...... read more read more
“Ready Now. Anytime, Anywhere.” The Navy Reserve’s motto encapsulates its mission to provide strategic depth and operational capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Navy shipyards faced a significant workforce shortage as about 25 percent of personnel at high risk for severe complications from the highly infectious disease were placed on leave.
This led to a backlog of maintenance work, risking delays in returning ships to the fleet.
To combat this challenge, the Navy's Surge Maintenance program mobilized over 1,600 reservists with technical and trade backgrounds to support the four naval shipyards Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, VA, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, WA, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard at Pearl Harbor, HI, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, ME, effectively addressing the backlog while adhering to health policies
Today, SurgeMain consists of approximately 2,400 Reserve Sailors across 75 units, making it Naval Sea System Command’s largest and most successful Reserve program.
These Sailors, skilled in various trades such as electrical work, pipe fitting, and mechanics, provide crucial skills in maintaining fleet readiness. Beyond their military duties during drill weekends and annual training, many SurgeMain Sailors continue to contribute to the shipyards as civilians, like Machinist Mate 1st Class Trenton Passey.
We asked MM1 Passey to share his experiences in the Navy Reserve, his time on active duty, and more. The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What is your hometown and state?
I was born in The Dalles, Oregon. About halfway through my childhood, I moved up to Richland, which is on the east side of Washington State.
What Navy specialty school did you go to?
After enlisting, I started in the nuclear community as a nuclear machinist mate. I went through an approximately 18-month program at the Naval Nuclear Power School [South Carolina] to get trained and ready to go to my first boat, fast attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN-21).
How long have you served?
I've served for almost 12 years now, nine years active duty and three years in the reserves.
Could you tell us about your transition from active duty to the reserves?
At about nine years, I needed to choose if I was going to stay in for 20 years and retire or get out. It was ultimately a family decision. I wanted to be there for my family. We decided to get out of active duty. I realized that serving in the reserves is a great opportunity to continue my time and still attain retirement.
I still have pride in the Navy and want to continue to serve the community without completely separating myself from it.
Now, let’s take a step back, what made you join the Navy in the first place?
Well, I have a different story. Most nukes will tell you how the recruiter approached them. But I had a completely different experience where I approached the recruiter myself, because I knew somebody who was an ex-nuke and he currently had a well-paying job at the Hanford nuclear treatment site [relatively near Richland]. He had told me all the great things about it. “It's going to be tough. It's going to be really hard work to get through, but if you do your time as a nuke, you're going to have many career opportunities. The world is yours afterwards.” I thought, “That sounds great!”
Could you describe your duties in the Navy Reserve at your current unit?
Currently, I lead the administrative division within our SurgeMain Kitsap unit as the leading petty officer, working directly with the chief petty officer. I make sure that the Sailors’ evaluations are done on time, awards are properly situated and presented, and everything is scheduled for upcoming drill weekends to run smoothly for the whole unit.
Where has Navy Reserve duty or assignment taken you?
Our unit is stationed at Bremerton, Washington, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. I've done my annual training here at the shipyard, but I've also had the great opportunity to go to Yokosuka, Japan. I integrated with the outside machinist shop, a civilian workforce that I worked alongside to get trained up. At some point, if I were to be mobilized, I could enter that shop and get right to work and know what I was doing.
Now you’ve told us about your job in the Reserve, what do you do as a civilian?
As a civilian, I work closely with submarine repair at Trident Refit Facility Bangor. We work on the Trident-class submarines, ensuring that they're maintained, repaired, and ready. Personally, I work within the quality assurance auditing office. I go to job sites and surveil in-process work from the shops. We also do audits on whole programs within the quality assurance field and submarine safety to internally judge the health of the current program.
How do you juggle handling your reserve duty with your civilian job and family?
It's honestly not very difficult, especially as a federal employee. It’s just one weekend a month and two weeks a year. As a federal employee, they have great programs to support reservists like paid leave, so that you can get paid from your civilian job while serving your reserve units during those full two-week trainings.
As far as family, my wife and I have a two-month-old. When I had to be away for my annual training, she was five months pregnant, and she handled it well.
What is the most gratifying aspect for you in being part of the Navy Reserve so far?
I’d say just being able to serve the Navy in uniform and continuing that while being able to maintain a better work-life balance.
What are the challenges, if any?
Being away from family for periods of time is probably one of the hardest things for any member of the military. For reservists, especially when you get mobilized, you just have to have that understanding with your significant other and your children of the purpose of what you're doing and the significance of it.
Say you’re describing your commitment in the Navy Reserve to someone who has absolutely no comprehension. Break it down for us and explain how you describe why you do what you do wearing the cloth of our nation.
The Navy serves a very significant function for national defense, probably the most important function. Without the Navy, we would not be able to have such easy shipping opportunities and such open movement of goods between countries. Our economy would not be able to sustain.
The Navy Reserve supports this by being ready to step up and fill each role when the Navy needs a larger workforce than the current amount of active duty and civil service employees can support.
If you could sum up your experience with the Navy Reserve in one sentence, what would you say?
It’s hard but fulfilling work.
The Navy Reserve component currently constitutes about 20 percent of the Navy’s total force, supplementing the active component by playing a vital role in maintaining operational readiness.
In times of need, activated reservists are mobilized at the right time and deployed to the right place to meet the mission readiness demands of the Navy fleet.
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.08.2024 17:54 |
| Story ID: | 486952 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | RICHLAND, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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