MAYPORT, Fla. - Chief Petty Officer Christian Sloan, a sailor with family ties to Charleston, South Carolina, serves aboard one of the country’s most versatile combat ships, USS St. Louis, operating out of Mayport, Florida.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class James Green, Navy Office of Community Outreach |
Sloan, a 1998 graduate of Millbrook High School in New York, joined the Navy 23 years ago.
“I joined the Navy to see the world,” said Sloan. "I wanted to join the Navy after high school but my dad asked me to try college first. After I got bored with college, I decided to join."
Today, Sloan relies upon skills and values similar to those found in Charleston to succeed in the military.
“Growing up, I learned to have respect for my elders,” said Sloan. "That was a message that my parents, teacher and coaches all instilled in me from an early age. I also learned to have a sense of self-worth and a respect for history."
These lessons have helped Sloan while serving in the Navy.
St. Louis is a fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, according to Navy officials. Littoral combat ships integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.
Littoral combat ships are hybrid surface combatants that lead manned-unmanned teams using unmanned aerial systems like the Fire Scout and Expeditionary Ordnance Disposal forces unmanned underwater vehicles. They conduct forward and maritime security missions like the Secretary of Defense Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. The ships also strengthen partnerships through port visits in small island nations like Tahiti and Fiji due to their shallow-depth hull.
According to Navy officials, the path to becoming an LCS sailor is unique and challenging. The culmination of their 18-month training pipeline, sailors qualify on a virtual reality simulator that is nearly identical to the ship. This intense and realistic training pipeline allows sailors to execute their roles and responsibilities immediately upon stepping on board.
With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.
"Our mission remains timeless - to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level," said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. "This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy."
Serving in the Navy means Sloan is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on strengthening alliances, modernizing capabilities, increasing capacities and maintaining military readiness in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“The Navy is instrumental in protecting our way of life,” said Sloan. "It provides military and humanitarian assistance, protecting our culture, our people, society and our allies as a whole."
Sloan and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.
“I'm pretty proud of where I have been,” said Sloan. “I've served in every fleet the Navy has to offer. I've been to nine different types of ships and visited over 45 counties. I have many experiences not many else in the world have had the opportunity to do, and I'm very proud of that."
As Sloan and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.
“Serving in the Navy has been very fulfilling, not just for me, but for my family as well,” said Sloan. "I'm proud to be able to say I have served my country. It has given me so many different life lessons that if had I not joined, I would have never experienced. These opportunities have helped me be able to appreciate our way of life much more than."
Sloan is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank both my dad and stepdad because they were very influential on me growing up in my younger years,” added Sloan.