Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Karri Langerman | NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece (Aug. 5, 2022) – Ensign Joshua Cannon, a...... read more read more
Growing up in Memphis, Tenn., Ensign Joshua D. Cannon was faced with many challenges to overcome. Almost 12 years ago, Cannon found himself watching the people in his circle falling into bad habits and in adverse situations while working at a local Target store. During that time, he began to feel stagnant in his current life.
“There was no growth. I wanted competition. I wanted a challenge,” said Cannon, while reflecting on his early adulthood. His older brother had joined the Navy a few years prior, and he took that as a sign to follow in his footsteps to propel his life forward in a more positive direction.
He left for boot camp in January of 2011 and continued to A-School in San Antonio, Texas where he became a Master-At-Arms. He reported to his first duty station in Mayport, Florida and spent a whirlwind two years stationed there. After completing his time in Florida, Cannon then went on to Bahrain followed by Rota, Spain.
During his time in Spain in 2016, Cannon began to toy with the idea of commissioning, but he knew that he had to make first class before he could submit a package; and he did just that. His subsequent duty station was in Kingsville, Texas where he was advised to wait another year before delving into the process of submitting a package. After contemplating the matter with his Dad, despite his eagerness, he chose to wait out the year and submit it shortly before departing Texas.
December 2020 brought Cannon to Souda Bay, Greece where he has been serving as the Weapons Leading Petty Officer with the security department. As someone who worked his way from an E-1 to an E-6 he takes great pride in connecting with his team of Sailors at all levels. As a social person, Cannon has taken his time at Souda Bay as an opportunity to get involved with the base and get to know as many people as he could.
Flash forward to March of 2022, the results were posted.
“I log in, I look at it, it says ‘S’ for selected,” said Cannon about the most pivotal moment of his life. “I couldn’t believe it.” He immediately called his parents with tears in his eyes to share the news. As the story began to make its way around Souda Bay, a wave of inspiration spread throughout the base that the then MA1 who began his career as a teenager from Memphis with just a high school degree could work his way up to this point of commissioning as an officer in front of his friends and family.
Upon his departure from NSA Souda Bay, Ensign Cannon will attend a two-week course to complete his commissioning as a security officer. He will then begin his new chapter in Whidbey Island, Washington where he looks forward to bringing a diverse array of fresh ideas to the command.
“I just want to do more. I never want to settle for less,” said Cannon.
On Friday, Aug. 5, the years of working and waiting for this moment culminated in his commissioning ceremony at the NSA Souda Bay gym. Cannon was joined by his proud parents who were beaming with joy celebrating their newly commissioned son.
Ensign Cannon closed out his speech with some inspiration for everyone who may feel that their dreams are too far away.
“Anything is possible. You just gotta stay hungry and grind hard.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2022 06:22 |
| Story ID: | 427398 |
| Location: | GR |
| Hometown: | MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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