Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Isaac Rodriguez | Air Traffic Controlman 2nd Class Nils Becker, assigned to the Wasp-class amphibious...... read more read more
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The beginning of a Sailor’s Naval career starts with exposure, sparked by someone’s family ties to service, television commercials, or maybe a recruiter visit to their high school. Whatever the influence, that spark can ignite a career path to military service for 20 years—or more. As young teens begin to think about their career, Navy outreach plays a vital role in the recruitment of individuals who are motivated to serve their country. Enlisting America’s best also begins at the deck plate with sailors from all backgrounds who comprise the fabric of America’s Warfighting Navy.
Aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) are sailors who exemplify this spirit through participation in local community engagements and volunteerism with local NJROTC programs.
Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class Nils Becker, an Iwo Jima honor guard member, jump-started his naval career with the NJROTC program while in high school in Sicily. During this time, he developed more knowledge about the Navy and a profound passion for honor guard.
“When I joined NJROTC, I was not doing great in school,” said Becker. “I just didn’t care or didn’t have any goals set up. But once I started doing NJROTC, they taught me how to basically get it together in school and focus on getting good grades. One of the biggest lessons I had back then was the importance of having discipline, respect, structure and order. It just helped a lot and that’s why I continued to do it.”
Today, Becker continues to volunteer by teaching drill to students in Granby High School’s NJROTC program. His impact is wide-reaching, enabling him to mentor students who might be interested in joining the Navy.
“I give little recommendations on how they can run stuff here and there but if they want mentoring on how the Navy works or if they want to enlist, I always give advice,” said Becker. “I advise them on what jobs are interesting, how it works, and what kind[s] of goals they should set.”
The interactions Sailors share with the local community, no matter how small, can help guide potential recruits to make more informed decisions about how they can serve.
“I don’t really think that I have a direct influence on whether they would join or not, but I do believe that by showing up and being proud of what I do, I may have some influence,” said Becker. “I like to think that I help people think more outside the box. There are so many different fields that are very different from each other. I just try to make sure they understand that so that if they enlist, they have a rate they had researched and that they like and is going to make them stay in the Navy.”
Joining the Navy gives recruits a common bond, but each one has their own rhyme, reason, and path to follow that may differ from their peers.
“I know of a lot of people that join NJROTC and say ‘hey, I want to join the military,’ or ‘I think this might be something for me’ because they seek that structure,” said Becker. “NJROTC is a great opportunity to show young people that the Navy is there. It is a job. It is something you can do after school. It has great benefits. I think NJROTC is better than any recruiter.”
Becker is an active volunteer with the Granby High School NJROTC program. During his time volunteering, he was able to foster great relationships with the students and staff of the program.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Ret.) Jerome Ferrette is the senior naval science instructor at Granby High School. While in the Navy, he set a goal to land a job as a naval science instructor upon his retirement. After 22 years of service—and a lot of hard work to carve that path—his dream became a reality.
“I grew up mentoring as a camp counselor and then when I was in the Navy, I was a coach for all types of volunteer things,” said Ferrette. “I love mentoring Sailors when I became a Chief. When I became an officer, I still loved teaching the young division officers and my division.”
As a naval science instructor, Ferrette continues to be a guiding light for others through the NJROTC. The lessons he teaches incorporate key elements of the Navy’s ethos and can prepare these cadets for their adult lives.
Ferrette highlighted the accomplishments of his former cadets. One was picked up for a pilot program with Commander, Naval Air Forces and went on to earn his pilot and drone licenses. Later on, that same cadet received the Navy ROTC scholarship and is now a student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University hoping to fly F-18s for the Navy.
“It is great when the ship, the Chief’s mess and everyone on board could mentor these young cadets to be great young men and women in life,” said Ferrette. “Then hopefully we end up recruiting them for the Navy because of that bond and that relationship.”
The Navy’s greatest investment is and has always been its people—the brave men and women who volunteer to serve. The Sailors aboard Iwo Jima and every command—ashore or afloat—have a unique ability to build peer-to-peer and mentoring relationships in their local communities.
“[Becker] has been phenomenal and I’ve mentored him for two-and-a-half years or so,” said Ferrette. “When he brings good Sailors in, it helps keep this program going and it supports the CNO’s initiative of helping recruiting and getting good young men and women to join the world’s greatest Navy.”
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2024 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 485740 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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