Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Karen Blankenship | Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Bruce Benoit checks the voltage on the...... read more read more
PHILIPPINE SEA – Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Bruce Benoit, a Milo, Maine, native, is currently serving aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) on deployment in the Western Pacific.
As an interior communications electrician, Benoit said that he is responsible for maintaining critical equipment all over the ship such as wind indicators, phones, plotting tables, fire alarms, electrical switchboards and more.
“We have to be multi-talented,” said Benoit0. “We own equipment from up on the masts to below the ship’s hull and from forward to aft of the ship.”
Benoit said that what he likes most about his job is that he is always learning new things.
“I have definitely gotten farther in the Navy than I would have on my own in the civilian world,” Benoit said. “Often there is a lot of troubleshooting, sometimes several days worth, to solve one piece of faulty equipment and when I get to the finish line and it’s fixed, I feel great.”
Benoit, son of Cheryl and Rick Benoit, graduated from Penquis Valley High School in 2009. He said he joined the Navy because he wanted to do something more with his life.
“I like to think that in the Navy I get to continue the American tradition of serving,” Benoit said. “Although the goofy side may not show it, the Navy has turned me into a man my mother can be proud of.”
The self-described eccentric said that he is proud to be serving his country and helping out on this deployment.
“America is my home and I want to do what is needed to make her the best place she can be,” Benoit said. “If I’m needed to go out [on deployment] for a few months, I’m more than willing to go.”
Bonhomme Richard, commanded by Capt. Daniel Dusek, is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed amphibious ready group and is currently operating in the 7th Fleet area of operations.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2012 06:30 |
| Story ID: | 94807 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA , USAFRICOM, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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