GREAT LAKES, Ill. – Sailors are some of the most highly-trained people on the planet, according to Navy officials, and this training requires highly-dedicated instructors, staff and support.
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| Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Jacob Joy, Navy Office of Community Outreach |
At Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), staff oversee 98 percent of new Navy Accessions, including Recruit Training Command, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, and Officer Training Command, ensuring officers and sailors enter the fleet tough, disciplined, courageous and trained in five warfighting competencies – firefighting, damage control, seamanship, watchstanding and small arms handling and marksmanship.
Chief Petty Officer Bryon Linder, a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, plays an important role at NSTC, supporting these sailors as a mass communication specialist.
As a mass communication specialist, Linder is responsible for leading a team of military and civilian public affairs specialists in creating content such as photos, videos and stories.
Linder, a 2000 Nashua Senior High School graduate, joined the Navy 19 years ago.
“The path I was on wasn't going anywhere,” said Linder. “After graduating from high school, I was pursuing a line of work that I wanted to pursue ever since I was a kid, but I wasn't able to make a living at it. After that, I reassessed and thought back to the adage of 'do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life'. I looked for a job that would let me do my hobby, which was taking photos, making videos and writing stories. The Navy provided me with this opportunity to have a job in what I was exactly looking for."
Linder uses skills and values similar to those found in Nashua to succeed in the Navy.
“The state motto of New Hampshire is 'Live Free or Die,’” said Linder. “I do my part by allowing Americans to live free by telling the Navy’s story.”
NSTC’s mission is to transform volunteers into naval service professionals by instilling and reinforcing enduring core values, knowledge, and skills to prepare them for the fleet.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, 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.
With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.
According to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, four priorities will focus efforts on sailors, readiness, capabilities, and capacity.
“For 245 years, in both calm and rough waters, our Navy has stood the watch to protect the homeland, preserve freedom of the seas, and defend our way of life,” said Gilday. “The decisions and investments we make this decade will set the maritime balance of power for the rest of this century. We can accept nothing less than success.”
Serving in the Navy means Linder is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“There is the kinetic national defense mission of putting ships at sea to deter aggression from hostile nations,” said Linder. “My favorite part though is the operations in which we use our physical assets to conduct humanitarian missions, such as Pacific Partnerships. I was part of a Pacific Partnership mission in 2018. It was all worth it to see the capabilities the Navy can bring to places that would not have them otherwise; which is incredible. We do so many other things in addition to warfighting, such as building relationships.”
Linder and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.
“I’m proud of being selected for chief petty officer,” said Linder.
As Linder and other sailors continue to train and perform the missions they are tasked with, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.
“Serving lets me contribute to a global mission set in a way that utilizes my strengths as a visual storyteller and communicator,” added Linder.