By Kayla Good, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SAN DIEGO – A 1998 South Gate High School
graduate and South Gate, California native is serving
in the U.S. Navy with Afloat Training Group San Diego.
As a Navy hospital corpsman he acts as the independent
duty corpsman, which is the only enlisted medical provider in charge of the medical
department.
“I enjoy the people at this job,” said Sanchez. “I like
the opportunity of having a job where I can be a provider to the sailors in the
service.”
The training
group provides dynamic training to Navy and Coast Guard sailors to ensure a
combat ready force capable of performing a broad spectrum of missions,
according to Navy officials. Special emphasis is placed on preparing ships'
training teams, special evolution teams and watch teams to institutionalize the
onboard capability to sustain and improve combat readiness throughout an
employment cycle.
“The best part of
serving with this command is seeing where the guidelines come from and why,”
said Sanchez. “I like being on this side of the training because we aren’t just
doing something because we have to. We get to see why something is done a
certain way.”
Afloat Training
Group San Diego strives to keep sailors’ warfare expertise sharp by maintaining
professional knowledge and skills through a robust training program of
installations and factory training, technical symposiums, informal training and
self-study. By maintaining a group of subject matters experts in different
warfare areas, they prepare ships to be missions ready.
"It’s amazing to hear our sailors’ stories,” said Capt. James Storm, commander of Afloat Training Group San Diego.
“Some of them are working on their PhDs and others are working on their first
degree. I’ve met sailors who grew up in extreme poverty, and now they own their
own home here in Southern California. Serving here at Afloat Training Group is
considered a career enhancing tour because these sailors are recognized
experts. They lay the foundation for successful deployments.”
According to Navy officials, approximately 355 sailors
make up the training group making their jobs highly specialized in
order to
keep each part of the command running smoothly.
As a member of
the Afloat Training Group San Diego, sailors prepare ships to deploy. Sanchez explained
they are building a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes. The trainers
know how important it is for the Navy to maintain and uphold war-fighting
capabilities to continue their success on the world’s oceans.
“To me, the Navy means
taking care of my family whether that be my personal family, Navy family or my
friends who I consider family as well,” added Sanchez.