PHILIPPINE SEA (June 26, 2023) Officers and enlisted Sailors alike attended the newly-revived Sailor 360 program mentorship expo aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) on Monday, June 26.
The event gave Sailors the opportunity to come and learn about mentorship, as well as giving junior Sailors a chance to look for a mentor.
“The event consisted of identifying the basis for a mentorship program onboard for all Sailors,” said Senior Chief Fire Controlman Ricardo Gonzalez, who runs the ship’s Sailor 360 program. “There were Sailors who volunteered to share, from personal experience, what role mentorship has played in their careers. Then we organized a ‘find a mentor’ session in a speed-dating-like format to allow for those who were seeking mentors to hear from our superstar Sailors. Some Sailors even found a mentor right there on the spot, so that was very exciting to see.”
The Sailor 360 program is a Navy leadership training program launched in 2018 and designed to enrich the professional development of its enlisted Sailors.
According to Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Nathan Thies, an attendee of the event aboard John Finn, there are many factors to consider when searching for a mentor.
“I feel it’s important to have a mentor outside of your rate with much more shipboard knowledge,” said Thies. “Regardless of out rates, we are training to be Sailors. We have to be well-rounded and dependable in any and all situations. I attended in order to find a mentor that could point me in the right direction with my career as a Sailor. We all need somebody who knows something we don’t in order to become somebody we want to be.”
The event also gave senior Sailors the opportunity to reach a new milestone in their careers by becoming mentors and passing their knowledge on to the new generation of Sailors who will be running the Navy in the future.
“Being a mentor, now as a senior enlisted Sailor, is one of the most rewarding facets of my career,” said Gonzalez. “It keeps me humble, and reminds me to reflect on where I came from and to remember that one day the Sailors I mentor will relieve me. In this way, I feel focused in my efforts as a leader, whether I am mentoring directly or indirectly.”
John Finn is forward-deployed to Commander, Task Force 71, U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. CTF 71 is responsible for the readiness, tactical and administrative responsibilities for forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers as well as any surface unit conducting independent operations in the region. Navy’s 7th Fleet is the largest forward-deployed fleet and routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect critical regional partnerships.
Date Taken: | 06.26.2023 |
Date Posted: | 07.09.2023 23:25 |
Story ID: | 448771 |
Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
Web Views: | 184 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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