Photo By 1st Sgt. Carmen Fleischmann | Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Danielle Mugford, treasurer of the Junior Sailor...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — The buzzer from the alarm has been screeching in your ears for the last 15 minutes and it is showing no sign of quitting. After debating with yourself you finally put your body into a vertical position and begin your day. Some of us even start to countdown the hours left in our day before we are even out the door.
However, there are service members deployed to Joint Task Force Guantanamo who do not look at their downtime as a chance to turn off the brain and do nothing. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Danielle Mugford, who is assigned to the Joint Intelligence Group, is one example of a service member who is making the most out of her personal time while she is deployed.
"I can't think of anyone else who dedicates as much of her off time as Mugford does," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Charity Hargis, Mugford's supervisor. "Any time I need someone to help out, she is always the first person to volunteer."
Since arriving at JTF Guantanamo in January, Mugford has maintained a packed schedule that on many days stretches into the late evening. She keeps busy by participating in the Junior Sailor Association, sports and completing her associate's degree.
Mugford's involvement with the JSA, a professional organization open to [lower enlisted service members], continues the time commitment to volunteering she has had since enlisting. Aside from volunteering to the Guantanamo community, the association also allows her to grow professionally.
"It is great for building skills like networking, leadership, organizing and fundraising. It's these things that we don't always realize are important. It's once you get involved and learn how to do them and you realize how they strengthen you as a leader for other [service members]," praised Mugford.
Since joining the JSA she has also helped reshape the organization's focus to become more involved in other events aside from strictly volunteering, such as poetry readings and video game tournaments.
She is also quick to point out that the JSA looks toward the service members when it comes to the free events that they host. "If we hear of a want for a particular event then we look at how we can support that," Mugford added.
It is that type of proactive attitude that also drives her to compete in many of the sports that are offered on base.
"So far this year I have played two seasons of soccer and I am currently part of co-ed softball. I also plan on doing the women's flag football when that starts," said Mugford.
This level of participation is in stark contrast to her initial time in the Navy, when she was not as active.
"In college I played sports; and I wanted to continue to be active once I joined the Navy. However, out of my first 13 months on a ship I spent at least six of them out at sea," said Mugford.
Another integral part of Mugford's down time here at Guantanamo is her commitment to finish her college degree, one of her main reasons for joining the Navy.
"I was going to college in North Carolina for more than three years and felt like I was wasting my time and money because I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I stopped going to college and said I would work for a little bit, then go back to school," said Mugford.
She decided that the best way to cover the cost to finish her degree would be to join the Navy. However, with much of her early career spent at sea she did not have the time to complete this goal. That was until she deployed to the task force.
"I took two classes last semester and I am currently taking two more right now," said Mugford.
She is now focused on her future, and confident that she will achieve her goals. Mugford added emphatically, "I will get my degree before I get out of the Navy."
"If you get involved and stay active, the time passes faster; but if you stay in your room and don't do anything, the time is going to drag," concluded Mugford.
Mugford's impression on her fellow service members here has not gone unnoticed. "I have been so impressed with [Mugford] that I have requested for her to follow me to my next duty station," said Hargis.
For more information about Joint Task Force Guantanamo, visit the Web site at www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.31.2009 11:20 |
| Story ID: | 38174 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 210 |
| Downloads: | 179 |
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