By
Navy Office of Community Outreach
SAN DIEGO – A 2001 S. V. Marshall High School, Tchula,
Mississippi graduate and Stone Mountain, Georgia native is serving
in the U.S. Navy with Afloat Training Group San Diego.
Chief
Showandra Mitchell
is
a ship serviceman with the training group
operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy ship serviceman is responsible for records
keeping, retail specialist, and marketing.
“The best part of
this job is interacting with people and being
able to bring up the morale of the crew,” said Mitchell.
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.
“At this command, we
are able to affect the fleet,” said Mitchell. “Here
we train the sailors in the right direction to go. Making a difference is very
important.”
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. Mitchell
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.
“I come from a very small
town, so being able to show my kids what I've been able to see is important,”
added Mitchell. “Also, being able to make a change in my mom's life means a lot
because she lives with me now.”