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SAN DIEGO – Two weeks ago members of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command traveled to the Recruit Training Command Great Lakes to participate in the completion of an eight week experience of sponsoring Navy boot camp Divisions 153 and 154.
Taking seriously the request from the Navy Administrative Message regarding command sponsorship of boot camp companies – SPAWAR wanted to take advantage of the program. With officers, non-commissioned officers and civilians representing SPAWAR, the newest Sailors in the fleet were given the support of all of those that support our Navy.
For some, like Navy Petty Officer Joshua Jackson who traveled to Great Lakes from San Diego, the visit was a homecoming of sorts. Jackson went to boot camp at RTC Great Lakes nine years ago. He was struck by the technological changes: state-of-the-art troop ships where recruits live, learn and train; the gym with electronic sensors to count laps while a recruit is running; and Battle Stations 21 – the USS Trayer (BST 21), a "ship" that spans 210 feet and is a true-to-life mockup of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
Recruits must pass the 12 hour Battle Stations event aboard the USS Trayer. The grueling test measures both Navy values and basic skills and only successful recruits may participate in the capping ceremony that follows. SPAWAR was there for this special event. There are no photographs and the ceremony is short. It lasts less than an hour, but it changes lives forever because at that moment on that day the "RECRUIT" cover is replaced by the "NAVY" one indicating their transformation from civilian to Sailor.
Jackson also noticed and was pleased with the things that remained the same at Navy boot camp. Recruit Division Commanders, Sailors willing to work long hours while maintaining the highest standards of the United States Navy, are still tough as nails. They work from before dawn until long after dark to transform a person from a Navy recruit to a Sailor. That kind of dedication is not easy to find in just anybody.
It takes a special kind of Sailor to make other Sailors.
But what does it mean to sponsor a Navy division in boot camp? When SPAWAR Commander, Rear Adm. Michael C. Bachmann, handed his colors to Divisions 153 and 154 to carry through boot camp, Team SPAWAR knew that sponsorship meant more than showing up for boot camp graduation and getting a tour. It meant giving recruits the ability to feel like they were part of the Navy family from the moment they were commissioned into boot camp divisions.
Bachmann's expectation was to have recruits carry the SPAWAR flag with honor, courage and commitment – the Navy Core Values. But the expectations for support during SPAWAR's sponsorship of recruits were not one-sided – recruits and Recruit Division Commanders had expectations of SPAWAR as well.
According to Senior Chief Nathan R. Cann, Recruit Division commander at RTC Great Lakes and responsible for one of SPAWAR's sponsored divisions, recruits felt like they were part of the larger Navy family when they discovered that there was an active Navy component providing some of the wind at their backs.
"My recruits were not only working hard to make their division succeed, but also to make their sponsors proud of them. The recruits took the fact that they were sponsored to heart and carried the SPAWAR flag with pride," Cann said after the SPAWAR visit.
Making SPAWAR proud is exactly what Divisions 153 and 154 did. When it came time for recruits and members of SPAWAR's delegation to break into small groups to talk about the Navy and what it would be like once they joined the Fleet after boot camp everything became clear. All of the new Sailors had a story to tell and all seemed genuinely proud of what they accomplished during the previous two months.
Those two months ended on April 16 when Divisions 153 and 154 graduated. Team SPAWAR was there and their invited guest of honor was SPAWAR Commander, Bachmann. The only thing left to do was to return back to SPAWAR and determine if we fulfilled our duty to these new Sailors.
Did SPAWAR help boost the morale of the recruits? Yes. Did SPAWAR create a solid link with the Fleet? Yes. Finally, did SPAWAR learn from the experience as much as the Recruits did? Absolutely!
The SPAWAR mission reads in part to "deliver advanced information capabilities to give Navy, joint and coalition forces a winning edge, from strategic-level decision makers to tactical-level operators." All of that starts with people and boot camp is the first rung on the ladder for a tactical-level operator or a one-day Chief of Naval Operations. Team SPAWAR will be back at RTC Great Lakes once more to continue the Naval mission as well as the mission of Team SPAWAR.
To learn more about sponsoring a Navy boot camp division see NAVADMIN 326/03.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2010 11:31 |
| Story ID: | 48886 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 272 |
This work, SPAWAR Learned About Itself During Recruit Sponsorship Program, by Steve Yuhas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
