By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Amanda Rae Moreno, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SANTA RITA, Guam – A 2004 Cavalier Public High School graduate and Cavalier, North Dakota, native is serving with the U.S. Navy assigned to a forward deployed submarine squadron overseeing some of the world’s most advanced nuclear-powered submarines.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Heidi Cheek |
Chief Petty Officer Cody Werven is a hospital corpsman with Submarine Squadron 15 in Guam.
A Navy hospital corpsman is the immediate supervisor responsible for the submarine media personnel stationed at Naval Base Guam. He ensures the submarined are medically ready to deploy.
Werven credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Cavalier.
A Navy hospital corpsman is the immediate supervisor responsible for the submarine media personnel stationed at Naval Base Guam. He ensures the submarined are medically ready to deploy.
Werven credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Cavalier.
"People from Cavalier are a little bit tougher from having to deal with the harsh winters, although you would never hear them say it, they would consider that bragging," Werven said. "They are hard, humble, and self-reliant. Those principles have prepared me well for my Navy career.”
Jobs are highly varied aboard the submarine. Approximately 130 sailors make up the submarine’s crew, doing everything from handling weapons to maintaining nuclear reactors.
Attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. Their primary tactical advantage is stealth, operating undetected under the sea for long periods of time.
“As the only forward deployed submarine squadron, we are the quick reaction force for the Navy. We can respond quickly to any crisis,” said Capt. Tim Poe, Commodore, Submarine Squadron 15. “It's spectacular the work our sailors do. We ask a lot of them and they always meet the challenge.”
According to Navy officials, because of the demanding environment aboard submarines, personnel are accepted only after rigorous testing and observation. Submariners are some of the most highly-trained and skilled people in the Navy. Regardless of their specialty, everyone has to learn how everything on the ship works and how to respond in emergencies to become “qualified in submarines” and earn the right to wear the coveted gold or silver dolphins on their uniform.
“Serving in Guam, I have the privilege of watching my submarine independent duty corpsman succeed both personally and professionally," Werven said. "The best part so far was watching my counterpart get promoted to chief petty officer this September.”
According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 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. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.
Jobs are highly varied aboard the submarine. Approximately 130 sailors make up the submarine’s crew, doing everything from handling weapons to maintaining nuclear reactors.
Attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. Their primary tactical advantage is stealth, operating undetected under the sea for long periods of time.
“As the only forward deployed submarine squadron, we are the quick reaction force for the Navy. We can respond quickly to any crisis,” said Capt. Tim Poe, Commodore, Submarine Squadron 15. “It's spectacular the work our sailors do. We ask a lot of them and they always meet the challenge.”
According to Navy officials, because of the demanding environment aboard submarines, personnel are accepted only after rigorous testing and observation. Submariners are some of the most highly-trained and skilled people in the Navy. Regardless of their specialty, everyone has to learn how everything on the ship works and how to respond in emergencies to become “qualified in submarines” and earn the right to wear the coveted gold or silver dolphins on their uniform.
“Serving in Guam, I have the privilege of watching my submarine independent duty corpsman succeed both personally and professionally," Werven said. "The best part so far was watching my counterpart get promoted to chief petty officer this September.”
According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 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. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Werven is most proud of achieving the rank of chief petty officer.
“In September of 2015, I was pinned as a chief petty officer while stationed in Groton, Connecticut," said Werven. "The support from my wife played the biggest factor in that accomplishment. It was also accomplished due to the hard work of the sailors and students that I had the priviledge to lead the previous 10 years and due to the mentorship of my previous chiefs and officers.”
Serving in the Navy means Werven 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.”
“In September of 2015, I was pinned as a chief petty officer while stationed in Groton, Connecticut," said Werven. "The support from my wife played the biggest factor in that accomplishment. It was also accomplished due to the hard work of the sailors and students that I had the priviledge to lead the previous 10 years and due to the mentorship of my previous chiefs and officers.”
Serving in the Navy means Werven 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.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Werven 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.
“The last 15 years have been the most rewarding of my life," Werven added. "The Navy has provided me opportunities that I would not have had otherwise and it has made for a very satisfying career. I will stay in until the Navy tells me I no longer can.”