WEBVTT 00:00.500 --> 00:05.450 - So my duties are to direct 00:06.600 --> 00:10.150 the action of the ship, and its crew 00:10.150 --> 00:11.610 in order to meet our mission, 00:11.610 --> 00:13.160 whatever that mission might be. 00:14.370 --> 00:17.070 The most exciting thing about being out to sea 00:17.070 --> 00:19.220 would be working with the sailors on board. 00:20.250 --> 00:21.990 Watching them do what they do, 00:21.990 --> 00:25.890 and watching them perform, 00:25.890 --> 00:27.520 as well as they do 00:27.520 --> 00:31.133 is the biggest pleasure I take out of this job. 00:32.260 --> 00:34.590 The most challenging aspect about being out to sea 00:34.590 --> 00:38.313 is being away from family, my wife and my three children. 00:39.240 --> 00:44.240 Very difficult, missing parts of their growing up. 00:45.770 --> 00:49.220 It's great when I get home, and I get to see them. 00:49.220 --> 00:52.860 But I do miss some of those milestones in their lives. 00:52.860 --> 00:55.350 And it's definitely the hardest part. 00:55.350 --> 00:59.340 So the most surprising thing about life at sea, 00:59.340 --> 01:02.350 for somebody who's not familiar with it, 01:02.350 --> 01:05.690 would be just the sheer amount of cleaning 01:05.690 --> 01:07.633 that we do every single day. 01:08.860 --> 01:13.483 We have the sweeping, swabbing wiping down things. 01:15.650 --> 01:18.970 Keeping a ship clean is a 24 hour job 01:20.280 --> 01:22.480 just based on the environment that we're in. 01:24.400 --> 01:29.200 So I the way I feel about being in command 01:29.200 --> 01:30.823 of a brand new ship, 01:33.040 --> 01:36.283 no different than being in command of any other ship. 01:37.520 --> 01:40.800 A crew is a crew, sailors are sailors, a ship is a ship, 01:40.800 --> 01:42.860 you learn the different systems, 01:42.860 --> 01:44.410 that are different from ship to ship. 01:44.410 --> 01:46.360 But other than that command is command. 01:47.840 --> 01:50.100 Being a part of the namesake of the city of St. Louis, 01:50.100 --> 01:52.683 is an outstanding opportunity. 01:54.110 --> 01:59.110 We had a chance to visit the city earlier this year, 01:59.130 --> 02:02.010 and were able to meet a lot of the people, 02:02.010 --> 02:03.700 see a lot of the great things 02:03.700 --> 02:05.700 that the city of St. Louis has to offer. 02:05.700 --> 02:07.890 And the welcome that we received 02:07.890 --> 02:09.810 was nothing short of amazing. 02:09.810 --> 02:14.220 It made me very proud to be associated 02:14.220 --> 02:15.570 with the city of St. Louis. 02:17.210 --> 02:19.760 - So my duties as the Commander-in-chief on board 02:19.760 --> 02:22.910 is to ensure that there's good order 02:22.910 --> 02:24.890 and discipline amongst the crew 02:24.890 --> 02:28.250 to ensure that we have focus on the career development, 02:28.250 --> 02:30.460 the morale and the welfare of the crew. 02:30.460 --> 02:33.260 And honestly, I consider all the people programs 02:33.260 --> 02:35.453 onboard the USS singles. 02:36.750 --> 02:40.150 So one of the most exciting things about being out to sea, 02:40.150 --> 02:42.830 especially with the crew that we have on board 02:42.830 --> 02:46.090 is you're able to see all the crew work together 02:46.090 --> 02:47.580 to accomplish a mission. 02:47.580 --> 02:49.960 We come from many walks of life, 02:49.960 --> 02:52.020 different parts of the country, 02:52.020 --> 02:54.650 even pieces and parts outside the country. 02:54.650 --> 02:58.780 And to see all of us come together to execute one mission. 02:58.780 --> 03:00.453 It's quite, quite amazing. 03:01.530 --> 03:04.550 So the most exciting thing about being out to sea for me 03:04.550 --> 03:09.070 is being able to see the entire crew function as one team. 03:09.070 --> 03:11.090 We come from all different walks of life, 03:11.090 --> 03:13.280 all different areas of the country. 03:13.280 --> 03:16.140 Some crew members even come from outside the country 03:16.140 --> 03:18.960 and to be able to see all of us come together 03:18.960 --> 03:22.220 and work together as one team to execute one mission, 03:22.220 --> 03:23.860 it's quite amazing. 03:23.860 --> 03:26.350 So I would definitely say that the most challenging part 03:26.350 --> 03:28.180 about being out to sea 03:28.180 --> 03:32.320 is because we're a minimally man crew, 03:32.320 --> 03:35.570 every sailor has probably two to three jobs. 03:35.570 --> 03:37.580 So that's a watch standing requirement, 03:37.580 --> 03:40.410 that's a day to day requirement, 03:40.410 --> 03:42.840 and that amount of work can absolutely 03:42.840 --> 03:44.240 become tasking at sometimes. 03:45.120 --> 03:47.580 So the most surprising thing I think civilians will see 03:47.580 --> 03:49.180 in our day to day life 03:49.180 --> 03:51.270 is a we call it fighting the ship. 03:51.270 --> 03:53.670 And one of the things that we do when we fight the ship 03:53.670 --> 03:56.510 is we have to make sure that the ship remains clean. 03:56.510 --> 03:59.620 So we've spent about probably two to three hours a day 03:59.620 --> 04:01.550 throughout the day cleaning the ship, 04:01.550 --> 04:04.200 especially during a COVID environment 04:04.200 --> 04:07.590 to make sure that we take the proper health protocols 04:07.590 --> 04:09.240 to ensure the safety of the crew, 04:10.430 --> 04:11.313 we clean a lot. 04:14.500 --> 04:15.750 - I am an electronics technician 04:15.750 --> 04:18.490 which means I maintain I correct 04:18.490 --> 04:19.910 I mean do corrective maintenance 04:19.910 --> 04:21.480 and preventive maintenance on radars, 04:21.480 --> 04:24.370 communications equipment, navigation equipment, 04:24.370 --> 04:26.190 shapes, computer environment, 04:26.190 --> 04:27.810 pretty much everything like that. 04:27.810 --> 04:29.620 And in big picture that enables us 04:29.620 --> 04:32.410 to do our jobs enables us to communicate 04:32.410 --> 04:34.510 with our families when we're gone. 04:34.510 --> 04:37.353 It enables us to complete our mission. 04:40.500 --> 04:42.810 My favorite thing is going out at night, 04:42.810 --> 04:44.650 going out to the flight deck or to folks 04:44.650 --> 04:46.230 and seeing the sky open up 04:46.230 --> 04:48.070 because there is no light pollution 04:48.070 --> 04:50.513 and it's absolutely mesmerizing. 04:52.520 --> 04:54.260 The most challenging thing about being out to sea 04:54.260 --> 04:56.160 is missing your home, 04:56.160 --> 04:57.720 missing going home at the end of the day. 04:57.720 --> 05:00.610 You have your rack here and while it's very comfortable, 05:00.610 --> 05:02.180 it's kind of nice with the red lights, 05:02.180 --> 05:03.663 but you just miss home. 05:04.560 --> 05:07.580 The part of our daily life that will surprise civilians 05:07.580 --> 05:09.220 is the movement of the ship, 05:09.220 --> 05:11.980 you don't realize how much the ship will move in water, 05:11.980 --> 05:14.700 or sway even if it's very lightly, 05:14.700 --> 05:17.090 even if it's just tied up to the pier. 05:17.090 --> 05:18.300 And then when you go out to sea, 05:18.300 --> 05:21.040 you hit some seas and that is some 05:21.040 --> 05:23.270 of the best leaf you will ever get. 05:23.270 --> 05:24.520 When the ship is rocking. 05:27.240 --> 05:29.470 I feel as being part of a brand new crew, 05:29.470 --> 05:31.680 I never thought that that would happen. 05:31.680 --> 05:35.400 That's something usually I will I've only ever heard about. 05:35.400 --> 05:37.610 It was I mean, I think I will get permission to ship 05:37.610 --> 05:40.480 it's a very big deal to be part of the Navy history 05:40.480 --> 05:41.880 and creation of this crew 05:41.880 --> 05:43.810 and this ship bringing her to life. 05:43.810 --> 05:46.067 Our names will be written in honor 05:46.067 --> 05:48.117 for the remainder of her the ship's life. 05:49.530 --> 05:52.110 Being a part of the crew that bears the St. Louis name 05:52.110 --> 05:53.150 means a lot to me. 05:53.150 --> 05:54.940 Last year we went to St. Louis, 05:54.940 --> 05:57.490 during the summertime and the hospitality 05:57.490 --> 06:01.300 and the warm experience we had was absolutely mind blowing. 06:01.300 --> 06:04.620 Everyone was so welcoming and just wanted to know us 06:04.620 --> 06:06.120 and wanted to know what are we gonna do 06:06.120 --> 06:09.710 and what's the ship like and it was absolutely fantastic. 06:09.710 --> 06:11.730 And having read a lot about the history 06:11.730 --> 06:13.260 of the previous St. Louis's 06:13.260 --> 06:17.090 I just think that carrying on the name will be lucky Lou, 06:17.090 --> 06:20.850 having her connected on our cresson in our history 06:20.850 --> 06:24.070 is absolutely humbling. 06:24.070 --> 06:25.330 It's a great a lot of history 06:25.330 --> 06:27.783 that we're in big shoes that we need to fill. 06:29.530 --> 06:32.450 - So my duties on board as an aerographer, 06:32.450 --> 06:35.210 I'm essentially the weather guy for the ship. 06:35.210 --> 06:37.810 Basic terms, but on the LCS platform, 06:37.810 --> 06:39.950 I also work with a quartermasters. 06:39.950 --> 06:43.690 So I help with the flags, any flags that need to be raised, 06:43.690 --> 06:46.420 any navigation assistance that needs to be done 06:46.420 --> 06:47.670 I help with that as well. 06:49.030 --> 06:51.600 Most exciting thing about being out sea for me 06:51.600 --> 06:53.890 is just the opportunities that you're able 06:53.890 --> 06:55.890 to do the different jobs, 06:55.890 --> 06:57.700 on different responsibilities, 06:57.700 --> 07:00.360 and the camaraderie that really comes with it, 07:00.360 --> 07:03.340 of being out to sea, making friends in different departments 07:03.340 --> 07:05.690 doing things that you never would do otherwise. 07:07.940 --> 07:09.840 Most challenging thing about being out sea 07:09.840 --> 07:12.220 is definitely being away from family. 07:12.220 --> 07:14.010 However, the camaraderie on board 07:14.010 --> 07:15.560 definitely helps out with that, 07:16.640 --> 07:18.193 making it a little bit easier. 07:19.800 --> 07:22.120 Something that I think that would surprise civilians 07:22.120 --> 07:23.890 about shipboard life for us 07:23.890 --> 07:27.080 is the adapting to the number of people 07:27.080 --> 07:29.980 with what we had to work with limited washers 07:29.980 --> 07:32.763 and dryers and showers and breathing. 07:33.700 --> 07:35.530 And the camaraderie definitely helps out 07:35.530 --> 07:37.623 but you learn to work with other people. 07:39.027 --> 07:41.670 And adapting to doing your everyday things 07:41.670 --> 07:43.420 that maybe you're used to doing 07:43.420 --> 07:45.270 without even a thought of scheduling. 07:48.600 --> 07:50.480 Being a part of brand new ship 07:50.480 --> 07:52.790 and a brand new crew has been an honor. 07:52.790 --> 07:54.290 I've been in the Navy for a while. 07:54.290 --> 07:57.970 So it definitely has I didn't think that was going to happen 07:57.970 --> 07:59.383 for me in my career. 08:00.920 --> 08:02.760 But it definitely it's been an honor, 08:02.760 --> 08:05.760 it's a whole new challenge is what it is. 08:05.760 --> 08:07.203 And it's been exciting. 08:08.770 --> 08:11.190 Being attached to St. Louis namesake 08:11.190 --> 08:12.940 definitely an honor as well. 08:12.940 --> 08:16.960 With that the city has supported us completely 08:16.960 --> 08:18.053 through and through. 08:19.680 --> 08:22.640 And yes I feel there's something special about this crew 08:22.640 --> 08:25.130 about this ship and reading through the history 08:25.130 --> 08:26.370 and lucky Lou, 08:26.370 --> 08:28.300 you definitely feel it a little bit on the ship 08:28.300 --> 08:30.230 and I think the crew is a whole 08:30.230 --> 08:31.753 kind of embodies that as well.