Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Danielle Serocki | ENGLISH CHANNEL (Nov. 4, 2022) Retail Services Specialist Seaman Jahnari Sutton...... read more read more
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By Lt. j.g. Cody Fulton, Disbursing Officer, USS ROOSEVELT
MEDITERRANEAN SEA – Behind every mission, operation, and exercise aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) is a crew of 350 Sailors who spend months at a time underway, forward-deployed in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations. Roosevelt, homeported in Rota, Spain, is currently on its fourth Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) patrol. For many Sailors, one necessary part of maintaining morale underway is a stop in the Roosevelt Ship Store.
Every morning and afternoon, a line of Sailors can be seen waiting to enter the store aboard Roosevelt, looking to purchase drinks, snacks, and a variety of other necessities. The experience is as social as it is functional – Sailors working in different departments and on different watch rotations find their daily stop in the ship store an important time to catch up with peers around the ship.
“One key to success on patrol is maintaining as much of a ‘normal’ routine as possible – whether it’s working out, listening to music, or browsing through the store, you have to find joy and satisfaction in the little things,” said Quartermaster Seaman Caitlyn Menze. “Even just standing and talking with friends in the line is something I look forward to every day.”
The ship store feeds crew morale in more ways than one. Every month, all profits from the store are transferred to the ship’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) fund. Roosevelt’s MWR program runs a number of weekly events for the crew, including movie nights, game nights with prizes, holiday parties with raffles, and more. MWR also purchases gym equipment for crew use and subsidizes travel experiences for Sailors during foreign port visits. They are an important organization on board and could not function at such a high level without support from the store.
Successful ship store operations rely heavily on a talented team of Retail Specialists. Retail Specialist 3rd Class Rafael Gonzalez, the ship store operator, leads the sales division in stocking, operating, and managing the store every day. This is a demanding job – balancing the supply and accounting aspects of running a business while also focusing on catering to the tastes of a diverse crew. Roosevelt’s team goes above and beyond in their duties – the daily and monthly sales records aboard are $4,142.95 and $54,965.12, respectively, which are no small numbers, even for a private business.
“On a warship, we sometimes focus so heavily on our combat systems, engineering, and weapons capabilities that we overlook the basic operations that support life onboard,” said Cmdr. John Mastriani, Roosevelt’s commanding officer. “Our retail specialists and supply teams work tirelessly and we would not succeed in any warfare area without their support.”
USS Roosevelt, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, began its fourth Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) patrol Sept. 27 in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.
Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.
| Date Taken: | 12.15.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.01.2023 04:28 |
| Story ID: | 435223 |
| Location: | MEDITERRANEAN SEA |
| Web Views: | 271 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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