One of my favorite parts of any aired Navy game is seeing the opening segment of the Midshipmen pre-game march-on. We're all over the place. It's really cool to see the juxtaposition during the Army vs. Navy game. They take it much more seriously than we do. But, at the heart of it, I like seeing the Midshipmen's faces. After doing a tour as a Company Officer, I know that each one of those faces has an incredibly compelling story.
11 years ago, I was one of those stories as a Senior at USNA. At the time, I didn't know if I'd be allowed to graduate and earn a Commission due to breaking my back and the resulting ongoing condition because of it called degenerative disk disease. I was able to seen and treated by some great doctors at Bethesda that made it possible to graduate and move forward.
This week I was honored to be a part of a former shipmate's Commissioning ceremony onboard NICHOLAS. He asked me to send him a biography for the program, so I had to crank one out for the first time in a while:
"A native of Christiansburg, VA, LCDR Phillips graduated with merit from the United States Naval Academy in 2003 with a degree in Computer Science. After being selected to the Immediate Graduate Education Program (IGEP), he graduated with honors from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2004 with a Master’s in Computer Science.
His first assignment was as Communications Officer in CLEVELAND (LPD 7). While
serving onboard he completed a deployment in support of IRAQI FREEDOM.
Subsequently, he successfully completed the Navy’s nuclear training pipeline
and served as Reactor Mechanical Division Officer in DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN
69) and completed a deployment in support of ENDURING FREEDOM.
Following his initial sea tours, he returned to serve as a
Company Officer at the United
States Naval Academy and taught Leadership and
Seamanship & Navigation. After being selected as a distinguished graduate
from Department Head School, LCDR Phillips served as Operations Officer in
NICHOLAS (FFG 47), completing a Central American counter-narcotic deployment
and interdicted over half a billion dollars of cocaine traffic.
Currently, LCDR Phillips is serving as the Chemistry and
Radiological Assistant in GEORGE H. W. BUSH (CVN 77). His personal awards
include the Navy Commendation Medal (two) and the Navy Achievement Medal (two).
He and his wife Amy have two children, Jack (4) and Emma (3) and are expecting
their third child later this year."
After writing it, I couldn't believe it's me. 11 years ago, that Senior at USNA couldn't have guessed that's where he'd be today.
I'm excited for that newly Commissioned Ensign to see where he'll be in 11 years; where we'll both be in another 11 years.
- Matt
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