MILLINGTON, Tenn. – As Americans reflect on the service of military men and women this Veterans Day, some may not realize that they are fellow residents with those who serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Petty Officer 1st Class Johnathan Fries, a resident of Newport News, Virginia, supports and defends freedom around the world, as a Navy boatswain’s mate, who is responsible for being a regional weapons maintenance coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Fries is a 2002 Elizabethton High School graduate and native of Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Reservists seamlessly support and actively aid military missions while continuing to lead their own independent lives in the civilian world, according to Navy officials.
“The Navy Reserve is a 100K strong team of sailors embedded across the fabric of society, loyal and dedicated patriots, serving both in uniform and civilian jobs, ready to defend the homeland and deploy across the world in a moment’s notice,” said Vice Adm. Luke McCollum, Chief of Navy Reserve.
The Navy Reserve provides strategic depth to America’s Navy as it protects the American homeland and advances economic prosperity by preserving freedom of the seas.
Fries works full-term serving as a Navy reservist.
As a Navy reservist, Fries serves with Navy Regional Mid-Atlantic Reserve Component Command Norfolk responsible for maintaining over 144 weapons to support force protection for Naval Reserve Centers.
Fries is playing an important part 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, 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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Fries is most proud of completing a tour in Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as, receiving three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for exemplary service at past commands.
“I'm most proud of completing my tour in Iraq because it gave me a sense of empowerment and that I was actually doing something that directly reflected the war on terrorism and to stop it,” said Fries. “It was hard and I worked over 13 hours a day but the self-satisfaction that I was doing something for the greater good of this country was beyond anything that I can even try to explain.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Fries, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Fries is honored to carry on that family tradition.
“I came from a military family with all branches of the service represented so going into the military was always my path,” said Fries. “At one point when I was in Iraq, I had the chance to meet up with one of my cousins that was over there but was in the Army. Seeing him and just knowing that we were doing this together was a very accomplishing and wonderful feeling.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Fries and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy is something that I love to do and has afforded me the opportunity to not only travel the world but to also open my self up to other people's beliefs and to experience what the world has to offer,” said Fries. “The cultural diversity that makes up the Navy or military in general is beyond words. All walks of life, religion and backgrounds cross to benefit the greater good of this country and the world. That's something that not everyone gets to experience all the time and I get to every day that I serve this country through the Navy and I absolutely love it.”