By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Erica R. Gardner, Navy Office of Community Outreach
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rusty Pang
PEARL HARBOR – There’s a U.S. Navy ship unlike most floating in the waters of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. It's a Navy warship that honors the name of a female who has set the standard of excellence for those who have followed.
During this Women’s History Month of March, a Chicago sailor and 2004 Wendell Phillips Academy graduate is serving aboard USS Hopper, named for Rear Adm. Grace Hopper.
Chief Petty Officer Jamell Naylor has served in the Navy for 11 years and works as a Navy operations specialist, serving aboard the Pearl Harbor-based guided-missile destroyer.
Naylor credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Chicago.
“Growing up I learned mental and physical toughness," said Naylor. "I also was taught the importance of remaining humble and never forgetting where I came from.”
The sailors’ jobs aboard USS Hopper are highly specialized, requiring dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments keeping the ship mission-ready at all times.
As a Navy operations specialist, Naylor is responsible for air traffic control of fixed and rotary wing air craft, managing information utilizing points-of-point communications as well as managing global databases for friendly and hostile shipping, and acts as a subject matter expert for various warfare areas.
More than 300 sailors serve aboard the ship named for the pioneering computer scientist who served in the Navy for 43 years.
Though Rear Adm. Hopper joined the Naval Reserves in 1943 after being an associate professor of mathematics at Vassar College, retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of commander at the end of 1966. She was recalled to active duty in August 1967 for a six-month period that turned into an indefinite assignment. From 1967 to 1977, Hopper served as the director of the Navy Programming Languages Group in the Navy's Office of Information Systems Planning and was promoted to the rank of captain in 1973. Hopper was promoted to commodore by special Presidential appointment in 1983. In 1985, the rank of commodore was renamed rear admiral lower half. She retired from the Navy on August 14, 1986. Owing to the breadth of her accomplishments and her naval rank, she is sometimes referred to as "Amazing Grace."
“This is my first ship in five years and I really did not know who Grace Hopper was," said Naylor. "The crew is so proud of who she was that I learned about her and now I am just as proud to be here amongst everyone. This is a close-knit family on board that is very proud of what she stood for.”
Navy guided-missile destroyers are multi-mission ships, equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons systems, that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea.
Being stationed in Pearl Harbor, often referred to as the gateway to the Pacific in defense circles, means Naylor is serving in a part of the world 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.
“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.
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Naylor is most proud of earning recognition for establishing Life Promotion, a program that involves junior sailors that celebrate life. Naylor is the suicide prevention coordinator onboard and created a group of junior sailors that promote suicide prevention awareness and care for their peers.
“This is an immediate impact on the command and the attention it has gained will make an impact on the Navy," said Naylor. "I can say that I left this mark on the Navy.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Naylor, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Naylor is honored to carry on that family tradition.
“I have a cousin that just joined the Army but I am not sure if she joined because of me,” said Naylor. “I plan to make this a legacy and speak to my nieces and nephews and cousins and help them see the benefits of the military.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Naylor and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I owe everything I have to the Navy," added Naylor. "It was the gateway to saving my life. My first goal was to make it to 16 year, then to 18 and then to 21. I have accomplished those goals and the Navy allowed me to meet personal and professional goals.”