U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian T. Glunt
PEARL HARBOR – Most Americans would agree that communications are a vital part of their lives. The same is true for the U.S. Navy. Instead of using smart phones and tablets, a group of sailors stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, use the most-advanced satellite and telecommunications equipment to share vital information with sailors deployed around the world.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Cory James, a 2010 Old Mill High School graduate and native of Severn, Maryland, has served in the Navy for three years and is assigned to Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific. As a Navy information systems technician, James is responsible for ensuring communications are stable as well as a point of reference for computer issues and providing constant digital access for the fleet.
James credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Severn.
“I didn't join straight out of high school so I had time to polish my work ethic and drive,” said James. “I carry that same drive and ethic into my Navy career to keep myself upbeat and moving.”
NCTAMS Pacific is the center of communications for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. They provide command, control, communications, computers and intelligence connectivity to Naval and Joint forces from San Diego to Singapore and beyond. NCTAMS Pacific is the largest naval communications station in the world, known as the “Pacific Voice of Command.”
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.
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.
Being stationed in Pearl Harbor, often referred to as the gateway to the Pacific in defense circles, means that James 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 Navy has been pivotal in helping maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region for decades. 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.
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, James is most proud of earning receiving a letter of accommodation from a vice admiral.
“I'm very proud of receiving this recognition for leading the team working at a very low frequency transmitter site, repainting an administration building and hand removing 34 outdated very low transmit gear,” said James.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for James, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. James is honored to carry on that family tradition.
“My mother and father were both in the Army and suggested I join the Navy, due to how I am workwise and travel interested,” said James. “Even by this being my first command, to be stationed in Hawaii has allowed me a taste of what my future can hold.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, James and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.
“I joined the Navy with a general drive at first to serve my country, but my reasoning has evolved,” added James. “Serving in the U.S. Navy is something I take pride in in each thing I maintain or repair. It fills me with a renewed sense of purpose.”