U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rusty Pang
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Most Americans rely on weather forecasts to plan their daily routine. The U.S. Navy is no different. With numerous ships, submarines and airplanes deployed in the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s area of operations, sailors stationed at the Naval Oceanography Anti-Submarine Detachment, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, make it their primary mission to monitor extreme weather conditions in support of the fleet’s daily operations.
Petty Officer 1st Class Nicholas Matta, a 2006 Jesuit High School graduate and native of Chico, California, has served in the Navy for seven years and is one of these sailors serving at the Naval Oceanography Anti-Submarine Detachment Kaneohe Bay.Matta credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Chico.
“I chose to go to my high school and committed to the requirements to remain a student,” said Matta. “I have always associated a goal to the choices I have made and created the commitment I have toward those goals.”
Naval Oceanographic Anti-Submarine Warfare Detachment, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, provides an asymmetric warfighting advantage to Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Forces (MPRF) in support of Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. NOAD Kaneohe Bay delivers detailed predictions of atmospheric electromagnetic propagation and underwater acoustic transmission to MPRF operating in the Third Fleet area of responsibility for mission planning, in-flight updates, and post-mission analysis to maximize the performance of sensors and ordinance.
As a Navy aerographer's mate, Matta is responsible for providing meteorological and oceanographic data to maritime patrol personnel and recon forces in support of anti-submarine warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
“Naval Oceanography defines and applies the physical environment for the entire Navy fleet from the bottom of the ocean to the stars,” said Rear Adm. John Okon, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. “There isn't a plane that flies, a ship or a submarine that gets underway without the sailors and civilians of Naval Oceanography.”
The U.S. Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest fleet command, encompassing 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean.
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Matta is most proud of earning a Navy Achievement Medal for supporting the command with navigation and maritime support when the leading petty officer left the command before the end of the deployment and he assumed his duties as a petty officer third class.
“It taught me there is a reward for hard work and I was recognized for the dedication I put in” said Matta. “It really pays off.”
Being stationed in Hawaii, often referred to in defense circles as the gateway to the Pacific, means Matta is serving in a part of the world taking on a new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
The Pacific is home to more than 50 percent of the world's population, many of the world's largest and smallest economies, several of the world's largest militaries, and many U.S. allies. The Navy has been pivotal in helping maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region for decades.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Matta, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Matta is honored to carry on that family tradition.
“My great grandpa was a WWII vet in the Air Force as a POW in Switzerland, B-52 Pilot and navigator for the B-17s. He influenced me with his stories, even though I was real little when he was alive,” said Matta.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Matta and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the military is being able to tell a story for future generations of what the Navy has done for me,” added Matta. “On my first deployment I went to three countries and on the second, I went to six countries. I have lived on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and I am living in Hawaii now. No complaints.”