Peddycoart is the supervisor for all food service operations on the submarine, to include ordering and loading provisions onto the boat, and the production and service of three meals a day to a crew of 135 personnel.The most important aspect of his job is keeping the crew happy.
“Food is a very important part of crew morale on a submarine and it is my job to take care of them,” he said. As a matter of fact, his favorite part of the job “is the people. Submariners are a very tight group. The bond [we] have is a very special bond.”
Peddycoart joined the Navy to try something different and challenging, which he has surely achieved while striving for the toughest rank in the Navy: chief petty officer.
“My proudest moment in the Navy was the day I got pinned as a chief petty officer in 2010,” he said.
Making the rank of chief petty officer in the Navy is a rank afforded more responsibility than any other enlisted rank in the world.
MCPON Russell Smith said in his CPO Charge Letter to FY19 Chief selectees, every chief is “expected to work longer hours, solve far more difficult problems and challenges, do more to empower junior Sailors, and provide better and more seasoned advice to Officers.”
He is very proud of the continued success of his division throughout the construction of the new Virginia-class submarine and is especially proud to be representing his home state of South Dakota.
“Being a native of South Dakota and being able to represent my home state on the submarine South Dakota makes me very proud,” said Peddycoart.
As a father of five, Peddycoart’s favorite things to do are cook and spend time with his family.
Peddycoart hails from a long line of service members with his grandfather and two of his uncles in the Navy and his father and one other uncle in the Army.
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.