SAN DIEGO – Chief Petty Officer Saibei Zhao, a native of Queens, New York, was inspired to join the Navy by the professional opportunities it offered.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
Now, 16 years later, Zhao is stationed with the Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command (NSSATC) San Diego, a new training command tasked with improving fleet readiness.
“It's exciting for the opportunities to talk to sailors and help prepare them for the fleet, pass on my knowledge to them and at the same time learn from them,” said Zhao.
Zhao is a logisitics specialist chief at the training center located in San Diego.
“Our team is responsible for teaching five supply-related courses,” said Zhao.
Zhao credits the Navy for changing his way of life.
“I think I've learned a lot from the Navy,” said Zhao. “The Navy helped me to see a way of living that became my way of life. I think the Navy changed me as far as how my life goes.”
NSSATC was established in March 2019. It develops and delivers advanced education and training opportunities that build personal, professional, and service support competencies to achieve fleet readiness. Headquartered at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex, Virginia, the command executes training at 10 globally dispersed learning sites with military and civilian instructors and staff personnel.
NSSATC is responsible for Advanced Administration courses, Advanced Logistics courses, Navy Instructor Training Course (NITC), Command Career Counselor (CCC), Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) Manager, Drug and Alcohol Program Advisor (DAPA), and Alcohol and Drug Abuse for Managers and Supervisors.
There are many reasons to be proud of naval service, and Zhao is most proud of being able to mentor other sailors.
“I feel like I'm providing a guide for junior sailors that they can reference so they can make better choices for themselves,” said Zhao. “Not to tell them what to do, but to give them better options.”
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.”
“It's exciting for the opportunities to talk to sailors and help prepare them for the fleet, pass on my knowledge to them and at the same time learn from them,” said Zhao.
Zhao is a logisitics specialist chief at the training center located in San Diego.
“Our team is responsible for teaching five supply-related courses,” said Zhao.
Zhao credits the Navy for changing his way of life.
“I think I've learned a lot from the Navy,” said Zhao. “The Navy helped me to see a way of living that became my way of life. I think the Navy changed me as far as how my life goes.”
NSSATC was established in March 2019. It develops and delivers advanced education and training opportunities that build personal, professional, and service support competencies to achieve fleet readiness. Headquartered at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex, Virginia, the command executes training at 10 globally dispersed learning sites with military and civilian instructors and staff personnel.
NSSATC is responsible for Advanced Administration courses, Advanced Logistics courses, Navy Instructor Training Course (NITC), Command Career Counselor (CCC), Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) Manager, Drug and Alcohol Program Advisor (DAPA), and Alcohol and Drug Abuse for Managers and Supervisors.
There are many reasons to be proud of naval service, and Zhao is most proud of being able to mentor other sailors.
“I feel like I'm providing a guide for junior sailors that they can reference so they can make better choices for themselves,” said Zhao. “Not to tell them what to do, but to give them better options.”
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, Zhao 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.
“Serving in the Navy has helped me throughout my whole career,” said Zhao. “It's a safe place that I can feel like home.”
“Serving in the Navy has helped me throughout my whole career,” said Zhao. “It's a safe place that I can feel like home.”