Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown
NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN – Petty Officer 1st Class Heidi Perry, a Waterford, Michigan, native, had a desire to serve since her time at Waterford Kettering High School.
“I think serving with the U.S. military is an honorable career and the Navy provided me that option,” said Perry.
Now, 17 years later and half a world away at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, Perry serves as the leading-edge of the Navy the Nation Needs.
“My favorite part of serving in the Navy is meeting new people and experiencing the different cultures I have had the opportunity to visit,” said Perry.
Perry, a 1987 graduate of Waterford Kettering High School, is a personnel specialist at NSA Bahrain, forward-deployed to the Arabian Gulf region in the Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet.
“I started my Navy career as a disbursing clerk, processing sailors pay entitlements, liquidating travel claims and providing customer service. The Navy then merged disbursing clerk with personnelman, a rate that provided service with the sailors service record,” said Perry. “The best way to describe my job now would be human resources, providing full customer service with pay, leave, and electronic service record updates.”
Perry credits success in Bahrain, and in the Navy, to many of the lessons learned in Waterford.
“I grew up around the automotive industry with my father, uncle and grandfather working for General Motors. We were taught to work hard to accomplish our goals no matter the work environment,” said Perry. “I remember my dad working non-stop, with no days off for months, leaving for work before five in the morning, and never hearing him complain trying to better our lives.”
U.S. 5th Fleet directs naval operations to ensure maritime security and stability in the Central Region, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean through the western Indian Ocean. They work with partner nations to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in international waterways.
NSA Bahrain enables the forward operations and responsiveness of U.S. 5th Fleet and allied forces in support of Navy Region Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia's mission to provide services to the fleet, warfighter and family.
“Keeping the proper records for the sailors allows them to remain mission ready and have a better attitude because there are no pay issues and they know they are being well taken care of,” said Perry.
The Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of ocean, and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 20 countries, includes three critical choke points; the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
Serving in the Navy means Perry is part of a 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.
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.
“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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Perry is most proud of earning a bachelor's degree from Hawaii Pacific University.
“I am the second person in my immediate family to earn a college degree,” said Perry.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Perry and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing the Navy the nation needs.
“I always believed serving my country by joining the Navy is a honorable decision,” said Perry. “The Navy provided me many opportunities and roles that I never saw myself in. Providing needed service to the sailors is my greatest contribution. I have never regretted my decision to join the Navy late in life.”
“My favorite part of serving in the Navy is meeting new people and experiencing the different cultures I have had the opportunity to visit,” said Perry.
Perry, a 1987 graduate of Waterford Kettering High School, is a personnel specialist at NSA Bahrain, forward-deployed to the Arabian Gulf region in the Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet.
“I started my Navy career as a disbursing clerk, processing sailors pay entitlements, liquidating travel claims and providing customer service. The Navy then merged disbursing clerk with personnelman, a rate that provided service with the sailors service record,” said Perry. “The best way to describe my job now would be human resources, providing full customer service with pay, leave, and electronic service record updates.”
Perry credits success in Bahrain, and in the Navy, to many of the lessons learned in Waterford.
“I grew up around the automotive industry with my father, uncle and grandfather working for General Motors. We were taught to work hard to accomplish our goals no matter the work environment,” said Perry. “I remember my dad working non-stop, with no days off for months, leaving for work before five in the morning, and never hearing him complain trying to better our lives.”
U.S. 5th Fleet directs naval operations to ensure maritime security and stability in the Central Region, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean through the western Indian Ocean. They work with partner nations to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in international waterways.
NSA Bahrain enables the forward operations and responsiveness of U.S. 5th Fleet and allied forces in support of Navy Region Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia's mission to provide services to the fleet, warfighter and family.
“Keeping the proper records for the sailors allows them to remain mission ready and have a better attitude because there are no pay issues and they know they are being well taken care of,” said Perry.
The Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of ocean, and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 20 countries, includes three critical choke points; the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
Serving in the Navy means Perry is part of a 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.
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.
“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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Perry is most proud of earning a bachelor's degree from Hawaii Pacific University.
“I am the second person in my immediate family to earn a college degree,” said Perry.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Perry and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing the Navy the nation needs.
“I always believed serving my country by joining the Navy is a honorable decision,” said Perry. “The Navy provided me many opportunities and roles that I never saw myself in. Providing needed service to the sailors is my greatest contribution. I have never regretted my decision to join the Navy late in life.”