My position is an electronics technician. When I enlisted, I talked to my recruiter and signed a contract for the advanced electronics field.

After I graduated boot camp, I went through basic electricity and electronics school, which is approximately three months. I went through Electronics Technician Class A School, which is approximately nine months, then I went through Class C schools for the equipment that I had to maintain throughout the years, which has been several different types.

[In my career,] I've had to maintain radar systems, sonar systems, computer systems, and communication systems.

[The navigation command and control system] includes a little bit of everything. There's a computer in there. There's radar interfaced into it, navigation, and communications.

I became interested in the Navy when I looked at all the career opportunities available to me. The Navy seemed most appealing. The Navy not only offered a good retirement program, career path, a technical training path, but also it was offering a lot of travel around the world. I've traveled all over the world. I was stationed overseas at one point for six years. I was stationed in the Philippines for three and a half. I was stationed in Japan for two.

I've been in the Navy for 18 years.

I also receive a lot of job satisfaction when I repair a piece of electronics equipment and know that the ship is capable of doing its mission because the equipment has been repaired. There is a lot of satisfaction behind that. Knowing that I'm serving my country at the same time.

I've essentially fulfilled all my desires in the 18 years that I've been in the Navy. I'm eligible to retire at 20 years, and at that point I'm going to go into the civilian job market and be an electronics technician there.