SAN DIEGO – Senior Chief Petty Officer Lucio Diaz, a native of San Antonio, joined the Navy for his family.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
“I didn't have a job or an education and I had a son I couldn't support at the time,” said Diaz. “I needed to provide for my family.”
Now, 19 years later, Diaz is stationed with the Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command (NSSATC) San Diego, a new training command tasked with improving fleet readiness.
“I'm getting to impact the entire fleet with the different schools we're teaching,” said Diaz. “Being a culinary specialist is more than just cooking. We have to manage the money and make sure everything is provided to take care of our sailors out in the fleet.”
Diaz, a GED graduate of Highlands High School, is a culinary specialist at the training center located in San Diego.
“I teach food service administration, galley watch captain and records keeping,” said Diaz.
Diaz credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in San Antonio.
“I learned to never give up,” said Diaz. “Continue to try and to pick away at whatever your goal is. If you fail, attack from another angle. I bring that same mentality to the Navy.”
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 Diaz is most proud of a pre-commissioning tour with USS John P. Murtha.
“After completing our food service inspection we competed for the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award against every ship in the Navy and won,” said Diaz. “That's the super bowl for culinary specialists.”
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, 19 years later, Diaz is stationed with the Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command (NSSATC) San Diego, a new training command tasked with improving fleet readiness.
“I'm getting to impact the entire fleet with the different schools we're teaching,” said Diaz. “Being a culinary specialist is more than just cooking. We have to manage the money and make sure everything is provided to take care of our sailors out in the fleet.”
Diaz, a GED graduate of Highlands High School, is a culinary specialist at the training center located in San Diego.
“I teach food service administration, galley watch captain and records keeping,” said Diaz.
Diaz credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in San Antonio.
“I learned to never give up,” said Diaz. “Continue to try and to pick away at whatever your goal is. If you fail, attack from another angle. I bring that same mentality to the Navy.”
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 Diaz is most proud of a pre-commissioning tour with USS John P. Murtha.
“After completing our food service inspection we competed for the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award against every ship in the Navy and won,” said Diaz. “That's the super bowl for culinary specialists.”
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, Diaz 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.
“The Navy has given me the opportunity to rewrite my story,” said Diaz. “I came in with no education, no ways to support my family. Now 19 years later, I have a home and a family.”
“The Navy has given me the opportunity to rewrite my story,” said Diaz. “I came in with no education, no ways to support my family. Now 19 years later, I have a home and a family.”