Unit award
Navy Unit Commendation
Awarded to a unit for outstanding heroism or extremely meritorious service that sets it apart from other units performing similar work.
United States Navy
Fire Controlman Third Class
Honorable Discharge
Sea Sparrow
Technician
June 1989 to August 1994. I enlisted to learn a trade, to serve, and to build discipline and leadership — and the Navy delivered all three. I maintained, repaired, and operated the NATO Sea Sparrow Surface Missile System, and completed ‘C’ School on the MK 92 Gun Fire Control System. Five years of work where a missed fault has consequences measured in lives. It is still the standard I hold work to.
1989Entered active service — June
1994Separated — August, honorable
FC3Rank at separation
6Awards, medals & ribbons
Primary system
NATO Sea Sparrow
Surface Missile System
Sea Sparrow is a point-defense system: short range, fast reaction, the last layer between a ship and an inbound threat. I maintained, repaired, and operated it — the Mk 29 launcher, the illuminator, the tracking radar, and the consoles behind them. Preventive maintenance on a schedule. Fault isolation down to the failing component when something went down at sea, with no depot to send it to. And standing the watch to run the system when it was called away. The standard is simple: it works the first time, in the seconds available, or it does not count.
‘C’ School — Dam Neck, Virginia
MK 92 Gun Fire Control System
The MK 92 is the gun and missile fire control system of the Oliver Hazard Perry–class guided missile frigate. A Combined Antenna System searches and tracks from inside its egg-shaped radome; a Separate Target Illumination Radar sits amidships; and behind both, a computer complex and console suite turn a radar contact into a firing solution for the Mk 13 missile launcher and the 76mm Mk 75 gun. Eight months of school, then responsibility for keeping all of it operational.
What the job actually was
Almost none of it looks like the launch photographs. It is scheduled preventive maintenance, alignment checks, waveguide and servo work, tracing a fault through schematics to a single failing component, and documenting every bit of it. The launches are the two seconds that the previous six months were for.
That is where I learned what I still believe about running a team: the outcome is decided long before the moment anyone is watching, and the work that prevents failure is invisible by design.
Decorations, medals, badges & ribbons
Awards
As recorded in Block 13 of DD Form 214, shown in order of precedence.
Navy Unit
Commendation
Navy Good
Conduct Medal
National Defense
Service Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal
Two bronze campaign stars
Sea Service
Deployment Ribbon
M-14 Rifle
Marksman Ribbon
Personal award · 1st award
Navy Good Conduct Medal
Recognizing an unbroken period of honorable and faithful service. First award, for the period ending 17 July 1993.
Service medal
National Defense Service Medal
Awarded for honorable active service during a designated period of national emergency — here, the Gulf War era.
Campaign medal · two bronze stars
Southwest Asia Service Medal
Awarded for service in the Southwest Asia theater. Each bronze star denotes participation in a separate designated campaign of the conflict; two are authorized here.
Service ribbon
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Recognizing completed sea duty and deployment aboard a ship assigned to operational service.
Marksmanship
M-14 Rifle Marksman Ribbon
Awarded on qualification with the M-14 service rifle.
Record of service
Timeline
Jun 1989
Entered active duty
Enlisted in the United States Navy. Recruit training and Basic Electricity and Electronics, Great Lakes, IL.
Sep 1990
Fire Controlman ‘A’ School
Thirty-six weeks at Great Lakes, IL: electronics theory, radar and servo systems, and combat-system fault isolation.
1990–1993
Fleet service — NATO Sea Sparrow
Maintenance, repair, and operation of the NATO Sea Sparrow Surface Missile System at sea. Gulf War–era deployment recognized by the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two campaign stars, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and a Navy Unit Commendation.
Mar 1993
MK 92 Gun Fire Control System ‘C’ School
Eight months at Dam Neck, VA on the MK 92 Combined Antenna System, Separate Target Illumination Radar, and fire control computer complex.
Jul 1993
Navy Good Conduct Medal
First award, for the service period ending 17 July 1993.
Aug 1994
Honorable discharge
Separated from active service after five years as Fire Controlman Third Class. Character of service: honorable.