JEA: This is our ship

AO2 Beauchamp addresses USS NIMITZ Junior Enlisted
Association.

By Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class William Beauchamp,

USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) Junior Enlisted Association President

When I was in high school I wanted to become a police officer. They always told me, “Join the military. Get a little bit of discipline.” You know, all that good stuff. When I came into the Navy, it was rough; I really couldn’t stand it. It was just so routine and there was just so much negative input from my divisions. It was hard for me to actually take the Navy seriously. Now, six years later, I’ve taken the lessons I’ve learned and look at things differently. There’s a purpose behind everything we do in the Navy, even something as little as cleaning a head and dusting an angle iron – there’s always a purpose for it. Of course it might be repetitive and redundant, but it’s necessary.

"There’s a purpose behind everything we do in the Navy..."

My goals when I joined the Navy were to better myself and to see the world, and since I’ve been in, I’ve accomplished both of those goals. Being out at sea and just meeting new people are probably my favorite things about the Navy, I love seeing that bond we develop as a work center. Usually while we’re in port, I just want to get the work done and go home, but when we’re out to sea it’s a different story. You develop relationships that you never thought you would with people you barely talked to, and of course, pulling into ports is a lot of fun.

One experience after another

By Operations Specialist 3^rd Class Andrew Call, USS Nimitz (CVN 68)

This time last year I had just graduated boot camp and after a hiking trip with my wife, I was on a plane flying from North Carolina to San Diego. Not long after I arrived, Nimitz was on its way to Bremerton. During that time I was a Seaman in the Deck Department, which was cool because I was able to stand watch on the helm under instruction. It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. 

I took control of the helm at the Washington - Oregon border. It was honestly a little intimidating since I was only supposed to be at the helm for 30 minutes, but two hours later I was still in control of the ship. It was really interesting because the water was really rough. To have the ship moving around that much was definitely not what I expected, but I enjoyed every minute of it.