Photo By Mass Communication Specialist Senior Chief Gary Ward
NORFOLK, Va. – A 1995 St. Francis graduate and Quezon City, Philippines, native is serving at Expeditionary Combat Camera, as a member of the Navy’s last Combat Camera Unit in Norfolk, Virginia.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Glenn Oania served as a logistics specialist. Oania was part of a unique Navy team that operated from the air, land and sea to create multimedia products that recorded military events for operational commanders in support of combat, information, humanitarian, special force, intelligence, reconnaissance, engineering, legal, and public affairs missions. Oania takes pride supporting the mass communication specialists. As a support staff he ensures they have everything to do their mission.
“When I see the results these sailors acquire, it gives me a great sense of satisfaction," Oania added. "When they deployed to document the relief effort in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Irma, they had all the equipment and gear they needed primarily because of the work I did.”
Navy combat photography began its roots during World War I when the Navy organized its first photographic division to capture aerial reconnaissance photographs. During World War II, the Navy added Combat Photographic Units and sent them to the Pacific and European theaters of war to document major campaigns including Normandy and Iwo Jima.
After the onset of the Korean War, the Navy established the Pacific Fleet Combat Camera unit, and subsequently established the Atlantic Fleet Motion Picture Unit, which would become Atlantic Fleet Combat Camera Group in 1966 and deployed teams to document the war in Vietnam.
The unit became Expeditionary Combat Camera in 2010 and continued documenting all branches of the military during major U.S. conflicts, operations and exercises.
Oania credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Quezon City.
“Hard work and dedication in my community was very important to us growing up," Oania said. "I consider that same mindset every day in the Navy.”
Members of Combat Camera perform unique and highly specialized missions with visual information documentation capabilities supporting all phases of a military operation. Personnel maintain qualifications enabling them to operate with air crew, special operations forces and military divers. Combat Camera teams have the technological capability to rapidly transmit imagery during fast-moving operations around the globe.
Expeditionary Combat Camera held a disestablishment ceremony Sept. 21 on Naval Station Norfolk. The ceremony honored the history, heritage and legacy of the command. Navy's combat camera units officially disestablish on Oct. 1, 2018, ending 67 years of service to the Navy and Department of Defense.
“All of those who have served at combat camera, have conveyed everything they’ve had to give; creative vision, a drive to excel, and a willingness to sacrifice,” said ECC’s final officer in charge Lt. Michael Larson, during the Norfolk ceremony. “Many have done the best work of their careers here, and that imagery has made a legacy that will live on, and inspires us to carry on.”
Oania represents thousands of U.S. Navy combat photographers who have recorded historical events from the land, air and sea spanning from World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom.
As a member of the Navy’s last combat camera unit, Oania and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Coming to this country for the first time and experiencing 9/11 both had a major impact on me," Oania said. "As an immigrant, adopting this country as well as being in the Navy both gave me a sense of identity that is unique. Serving in the Navy means being a part of something bigger than myself.”