Sanchez whips up three to six meals a day during his twelve-hour shifts aboard the submarine, keeping the crew well fed. “I keep the crew fed and motivated. Since the submarine lifestyle could be very stressful, when underway and gone from loved ones with no, to little contact, the crew looks forward to a good meal,” he said.
He says the favorite part of his job is on pizza night and getting the chance to be creative with the pizza’s toppings.
Sanchez joined the Navy to better his life and gain more opportunities outside of the borough and he has certainly done that by earning his submarine warfare pin, commonly known as “Dolphins”, earning a promotion to E-4 through the meritorious advancement program and receiving a Navy Achievement Medal.
As the first military member in his family, Sanchez has paved the way with his accomplishments which encouraged his brother to join the Army.
In his spare time, Sanchez enjoys exercising, watching sports and spending time with his wife and friends.
The South Dakota is a flexible, multi-mission platform designed to carry out the seven core competencies of the submarine force: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, delivery of special operation forces, strike warfare, irregular warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and mine warfare. It’s 377 feet long and 34 feet wide and weighs nearly 7,800 tons, powered by a nuclear reactor to push the boat through the water at speeds of more than 25 knots while submerged.
As the most modern and sophisticated attack submarine in the world, the submarine can operate in both littoral and deep ocean environments and presents combatant commanders with a broad and unique range of operational capabilities.