The life of a U.S. Navy sailor. The days are long and the work is often times difficult and dangerous. However, there are certain skills a sailor learns early and uses often. For example, stuffing 40 pounds of uniform gear and boots into a 4 pound bag. It's a skill sailors like Pennsylvania native Javaun Harvey learned at boot camp 7 years ago. At the time he thought, "Man I don't know if I'm going to like this. It was kind of difficult at first, but I mean you just get used to it. It's fun. It's a new adventure."
It's a process Navy sailors go through many times during they time in the service. It's how sailors pack and transport their gear each and every time they sent to and from a ship. Harvey says, "Everything that initially comes in a sea bag is everything that you are going to need. But, you don't always need everything you're going to pack."
The Naval Exchange in Norfolk Virginia is where sailors stationed here can get additional items. It's a huge uniform shopping mall. And when it comes to fitting all that gear inside the bag- practice makes perfect! "Packing stuff down the sides. Shaking it. Having someone push down on it."
The Pennsylvania native works on the aircraft carrier flight deck. "It's a thrilling job, but also dangerous at the same time- and you mix it and you multiply it by ten. Because the flight deck is one of the most dangerous places to work with."
Harvey love the job and loves the many travel opportunities he's been given over the years. "I've been to France before. Been to Spain. I've been to Dubai. Dubai is great. I've been to Bahrain before. We went to Greece also. I went to some really awesome places!"
Another Pennsylvanian who is seeing the world is York County native Edward Link. Link is a 2010 graduate of Dover High School who is currently stationed aboard the U.S.S. Bataan which is a Marine amphibious assault ship. His job is in the radio room. "My usual work day is to make sure everything, all of our circuits are up and running- and pretty much monitor those. We train our new guys and make sure we are up to snuff for the mission at hand."
He's proud of the work he does. Making sure people can communicate with their families while they're on deployment. He enjoys the experiences he's gotten the last 7 years with the Navy. "I actually kind of like to go to see the world. That's mainly one of the main points of why I joined- to see the world."