ANNE T. GRIFFIN: A NAVY Experience

I found myself outside at 9pm reflecting on my day and watching hornet jets landing and catapulting off the lit giant sheet of metal in the middle of a night covered ocean. I was reflecting on the people I met and the cool things I had seen. I’ve always respected the armed forces, but until that day I would have never considered joining the Navy, nor been able to picture myself being excited about what the Navy does.

I’ve had a lot of experience working on teams, for work, school, and student groups, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with people who were passionate about what they are doing, and leading with a purpose. It is not hard for me to spot those who genuine about their leadership and passion. My experience on the aircraft carrier was the first time I was surrounded by so many people who genuinely cared about the rest of their team and weren’t just doing their job to just get finished at the end of the day. Needless to say, with the importance and the amount of work on an aircraft carrier, those who are opportunist or have selfish intentions don’t last long.

I really started to identify with the men and women of the Navy the night before we went to the aircraft dinner. Lieutenant Sonya Brown-Conner from the Diversity Directorate was one of the first members of the Navy I had the opportunity to speak to. One program LT Brown-Conner’s work goes towards is helping women in the Navy navigate having a successful and opportunity filled career with the Navy and a happy family and home life. Previous to my discussion with LT Brown-Conner, I had no idea how much the Navy helped women who wanted to have a healthy work-life balance (and yes it is possible to have while being in the Navy). I was really impressed with how important that was to the Navy.



Another thing I was not aware of is the culture of community service in the Navy in civilian and military capacities. LT Brown-Conner participated in the Susan G. Coman Breast Cancer 3-Day last year with a group of friends. For those of you not familiar with the Breast Cancer 3-Day, it is a 60-mile walk, done over the course of three days where you raise money beforehand to support important breast cancer research, screenings, and education. I was really impressed and excited because I’m walking the Breast Cancer 3-Day this summer in July. She was more than happy to give me advice about training for the walk and what to expect at the walk itself.

While on board with the men and women of the USS Ronald Regan (CVN 76) I learned about how the Navy serves communities around the world. Rarely does the public hear about what the Navy does other than fighting pirates or sent to put pressure on another country. In 2008 while returning to the United States, a typhoon hit the Philippines and many families were left without homes, food, or clean water. The USS Ronald Regan stopped in the Philippines to help those who were in distress. They were used to help transport food and medical supplies, as well as clean drinking water.

The men and women of the Navy are some of the most down to earth and humble people you will meet, but they are some of the nation’s best leaders. In a world where there are many people focused on drawing attention and credit to themselves, it was refreshing to meet such a great group of people who live to serve for unselfish reasons.

Note: Anne T. Griffin is PR Chair for NSBE and a B.S.E Candidate in Industrial/Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI