NORFOLK, Va. - Petty Officer 1st Class Ivan Godinez, a native of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was interviewed by WTKR-TV on June 26, as part of the television station’s “Military Unit of the Month” feature.
Godinez, a boatswain’s mate, works in the port operations department at Naval Station Norfolk. His unit was chosen as the unit of the month to coincide with the beginning of hurricane season. The port operations department ensures that ships that are able to get out to sea ahead of a hurricane, while those that can’t are safely moored to piers that can withstand hurricanes.
Godinez knows first-hand, the challenges a ship can face when trying to moor during a hurricane.
"During Hurricane Dorian, I was still attached to USS Arlington (LPD 24), they're docked here at Naval Station Norfolk," Godinez said. "Being a leading petty officer on that ship, we had to move from a single decker to a double decker pier during the hurricane, because those piers are built to withstand the elements of a hurricane. I remember that we started at five o'clock p.m. and we did not secure until past midnight. Now, it was very excruciating, very vigorous very demanding, but also very rewarding due to the fact that a multi-billion dollar vessel was safely docked under my charge, and the people that I had with with me. Again, back to the "why I love doing what I do."
"A ship is moored when the weather is still adequate and calm," Godinez added. "We're not going to usually moor them during heavy weather, but there's danger and risk with everything. The most dangerous part in my opinion, is the line handling stations, because a ship is being pushed against a pier by tugs. Now when the tug is released, those lines, or ropes as people call them, take a huge strain and come under complete tension that at times, can cause them to snap back. If a line hits a sailor, that's damage that can potentially amputate a limb with enough force. So those are some of the risks that happen with docking ships on the ship side. Vice versa on the pier with my dock masters, if a line takes too much strain and snaps, it could potentially hit one of my dock masters or one of the line handlers that comes from the ships."
Godinez explains that extra precautions have to be made to moor a ship in advance of a hurricane.
"For starters, a ship will be removed from a single decker pier and taken into a double decker pier," Godinez said. "We only have four double decker piers. Ships usually have one to 12 mooring line configurations, carriers have one through 14. When we come to a heavy weather moor, ships can have up to 16 mooring lines. They're bigger in circumference. They're stronger. Right before a hurricane hits, we remove the brows. We do not provide hotel services to a ship when there's a hurricane. We keep them disconnected so the ship is on its own power."
During port operations, Godinez is the leading petty officer for dock master division. He is an integral part of a team, that ensures all 61 home ported ships make it out to sea safely.
"I have 52 dock masters under my charge, and for moving these ships we work directly with the pilots who coordinate with the tugs on the pier so when a ship is arriving we're constantly communicating," Godinez said. "We're constantly communicating with the pilot marking the ship as it travels up the pier into its birth. The ship will throw out it's mooring lines and moor to the pier and then we'll deliver its pier assets, its brows, its stands, its ramp, whatever is needed for the sailors to get on and off the ship. We have 4.1 miles of waterfront that we have to maintain and ensure that everything on the water is floating, floating safely out of damage - out of harm's way. Our assets are worth $31.5 million. All our waterborne assets, our pier assets, by waterborne assets I'm talking about fenders and barges that are used to brush ships off the pier. It's a tremendous responsibility."
Godinez, a 2011 graduate of Central Gwinnett High School, joined the Navy to give his wife and daughter a better life.
"When I was in high school, I had a daughter," Godinez said. "I was eighteen years old with a kid and after I graduated high school, I worked for a year. I just wanted to give my wife and my daughter more than what I had at the time, and I saw the military fit to do so, which I've had nothing but tremendous success and it's given my family everything that I could possibly have that they need."
"When I enlisted in the Navy, I didn't have much knowledge of the Navy rates," Godinez added. "I was assigned boatswain's mate and when my recruiter told me that's the rate that I was going to be selected for, he trusted me that I was going to work hard. I served five years on a dock landing ship, another two years on a transport landing dock and then I was selected for orders to Naval Station Norfolk. I've been in port operations for nine months and I have grown tremendously. It was a culture shock at first because I was used to just a single point of responsibility on one ship, one crew to worry about. Then I came here and had to be concerned about 61 ships and their responsibilities to maintain them. That's why I'm where I am today, the responsibility of being charged of such a demanding waterfront and so many ships has placed me like this, and it's why I am like this."
As a member of the U.S. Navy, Godinez, as well as other sailors, know they are a part of a service tradition providing unforgettable experiences through leadership development, world affairs and humanitarian assistance. Their efforts will have a lasting effect around the globe and for generations of sailors who will follow.
"I take tremendous pride in what I do," Godinez added. "I enjoy my job, I enjoy the Navy. It's given everything I have to my family and more. To have the opportunity to represent and show a positive factor and truly describe what we're able to do out here, I jumped on it quickly.”
**See link below for additional photo**
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/50084775886/in/dateposted/
**See link below for additional photo**
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/50084775886/in/dateposted/