Photo By Seaman Jibreel Uddin | 220309-N-JU123-1014 IONIAN SEA (Mar. 9, 2022) Lt. Cmdr. Steve Hood, left, from Kings...... read more read more
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There are many moving parts aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), that allow the ship run smoothly, but there is one department that makes sure that all records are properly recorded and maintained.
The administration (admin) department handles most pieces of correspondence and paperwork relating to the careers of Sailors aboard. Sending and receiving of correspondence is vital to keeping the ship running smoothly.
The ship must be manned at all hours of the day, so Sailors who work outside of normal working hours can get help from admin without having to stay awake into the day.
“Admin department is open 24 hours a day while underway,” said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Hood, Truman’s administrative officer. “We will be available all day, every day, in order to help with any paperwork and correspondence needs.”
Without people trained to do it correctly, paperwork can get mishandled, lost or sent to the wrong people which can hold up somebody’s promotion or set someone’s career off-track.
“I accept, process and route correspondence to make sure it gets from point A to point B,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Angel Rodriguez-Garcia, an admin department, X-1 division yeoman.
In order to host an event, such as an association fair, all related paperwork must go through someone in the admin department first.
“Some events won’t happen without us,” said Rodriguez-Garcia. “If we’re not there to route it, all paperwork needed won’t get done. In the Navy, proper bookkeeping is essential to maintaining our fleet.”
Whenever a Sailor needs help with their paperwork, admin takes great pride in making sure that the sailor’s request is handled with care and precision.
“My job is to oversee the department to ensure that we are providing the best services possible to each member aboard Truman,” said Hood. “As the administrative officer, I report to the commanding officer for effectiveness of administrative policies, procedures and regulations aboard. I also report to the executive officer for the administration of the ship.”
Sailors needing personal paperwork and correspondence routed and put into their service records may not know how to route them.
“What may seem little to you is not always the case for the Sailor,” said Hood. “We want our Sailors who are asking questions or routing personal correspondence to trust that we are handling it with the same importance as if it were our own.”
Separations, as well as arrivals, are another important aspect to the admin department. The personnel division of admin works hard to help with the in-processing or out-processing of Sailors.
“As a separations clerk, I prepare packages for Sailors who are separating,” said Personnel Specialist 3rd Class Maggie Francis, an admin department, X-2 division separations clerk. “Underway, it is crucial to acquire all of the correct documents in order to process out so that TPU can process out the Sailors out successfully.”
Sailors who are en route to their first duty station who stay in temporary housing or get put into a hotel while en route to the Truman will need to keep all of the receipts that they acquire while in transit.
“Always keep your receipts when you are transferring from one duty station to another,” said Francis. “It will result in being reimbursed for any in transit expenses and prevent indebtedness.”
Despite all the traffic that the admin department receives on a daily basis, the needs of all Sailors gets treated with exemplary care by members of the department.
“Every piece of paper has a heartbeat,” said Hood. “What may seem little to you is not always the case for the Sailor, so we strive to ensure that we feel the same way as the Sailor who is asking the question or routing personal correspondence.”
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2022 10:18 |
| Story ID: | 418942 |
| Location: | ADRIATIC SEA |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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