SAN DIEGO – Chief Petty Officer Leverd Nunn, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, was inspired to join the Navy by the opportunity to travel.
 |
| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
“I was inspired because I wasn't ready to go to college but I wanted to see the world,” Nunn said.
Now, 18 years later, Nunn is currently stationed in San Diego at the Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS), which specializes in training sailors in the employment of shipboard weapon systems. Specifically, Nunn was hand selected to help oversee the Navy’s warfighting curriculum in its newest combat trainer known as CIAT. CIAT stands for the “Combined Integrated Air & Missile Defense / Anti-Submarine Warfare Trainer” and is a state-of-the art tactical simulator that allows Instructors like Nunn to train a more capable fleet.
“It's exciting to teach the next generation of Navy sailors, handing over knowledge to them and seeing them take it to the next level,” said Nunn.
Nunn, a 2001 graduate of Minor High School, is an operations specialist chief at the training center located in San Diego.
“I teach sailors air and missile defense as well and air intercept control,” said Nunn.
Nunn credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Birmingham.
“I learned to never give up and keep pushing through adversity,” said Nunn.
CSCS’s mission is to develop and deliver surface ship combat systems training to achieve surface warfare superiority. The Command provides over 538 courses and trains over 38,000 sailors each year. CSCS delivers specialized training for Officer and Enlisted sailors to tactically operate, maintain, and employ shipboard and shore-based weapons, sensors, and command and control systems utilized in today’s Navy.
“Nunn represents the very best of our Navy team,” Lt. Cmdr.Reisheid Dixon, the officer in charge of CSCS San Diego, added. “The high level of knowledge and tactical expertise of our Instructors ensures we are providing the most challenging and valuable training to the waterfront.”
There are many reasons to be proud of naval service, and Nunn is most proud of being selected to be a chief petty officer.
“It’s a pretty big accomplishment in my Navy career,” Nunn said. “It’s a level in the Navy that not everyone gets to. I can turn around and help others get to that level.”
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.
“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.”
Now, 18 years later, Nunn is currently stationed in San Diego at the Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS), which specializes in training sailors in the employment of shipboard weapon systems. Specifically, Nunn was hand selected to help oversee the Navy’s warfighting curriculum in its newest combat trainer known as CIAT. CIAT stands for the “Combined Integrated Air & Missile Defense / Anti-Submarine Warfare Trainer” and is a state-of-the art tactical simulator that allows Instructors like Nunn to train a more capable fleet.
“It's exciting to teach the next generation of Navy sailors, handing over knowledge to them and seeing them take it to the next level,” said Nunn.
Nunn, a 2001 graduate of Minor High School, is an operations specialist chief at the training center located in San Diego.
“I teach sailors air and missile defense as well and air intercept control,” said Nunn.
Nunn credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Birmingham.
“I learned to never give up and keep pushing through adversity,” said Nunn.
CSCS’s mission is to develop and deliver surface ship combat systems training to achieve surface warfare superiority. The Command provides over 538 courses and trains over 38,000 sailors each year. CSCS delivers specialized training for Officer and Enlisted sailors to tactically operate, maintain, and employ shipboard and shore-based weapons, sensors, and command and control systems utilized in today’s Navy.
“Nunn represents the very best of our Navy team,” Lt. Cmdr.Reisheid Dixon, the officer in charge of CSCS San Diego, added. “The high level of knowledge and tactical expertise of our Instructors ensures we are providing the most challenging and valuable training to the waterfront.”
There are many reasons to be proud of naval service, and Nunn is most proud of being selected to be a chief petty officer.
“It’s a pretty big accomplishment in my Navy career,” Nunn said. “It’s a level in the Navy that not everyone gets to. I can turn around and help others get to that level.”
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.
“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.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Nunn and other sailors and staff know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, serving as a key part of the Navy the Nation needs.
“For me serving means bringing all the values I learned in Birmingham into the Navy and using that to help advance the culture of the Navy as a whole,” said Nunn.