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JBSA News
NEWS | July 17, 2019

Navy Recruiting District San Antonio hosts Texas educators, counselors in San Diego

By Burrell Parmer Navy Recruiting District San Antonio Public Affairs

Navy Awareness is an important element in recruiting America’s best and brightest for naval service. To assist the recruiting effort in Central and South Texas, eight educators and counselors, along with support personnel from Navy Recruiting District San Antonio, visited naval commands in support of an Educator Orientation Visit, or EOV, July 8-12.

The EOV is a Navy Recruiting Command, or NRC, program with a main focus of showing educators the various facets of America’s Navy and the many career paths available to students.

According to Joseph Grote, a counselor with Poteet High School in Poteet, Texas, the EOV experience was a great opportunity to learn about the Navy and military overall.

“I learned about military culture, ranks and the traditions of the Navy,” Grote said. “In addition, I learned about the career opportunities and jobs in the military. It was amazing to see all the opportunities from healthcare jobs, to computer information systems, engineering, mechanics, advanced manufacturing and so many other jobs that many would not think are offered through the Navy.”

Additionally, Grote stated that he was unaware of the civilian and contract personnel which augment the Sailors in their missions.

The group visited Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron SIX (HSC 6), USS Alexandria (SSN 757), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) Training Center, Naval Medical Center San Diego, Pacific Beacon Housing, the Fleet Readiness Center, and the Navy's Undersea Rescue Command, among others.

The highlight of the EOV for Grote was touring the submarine and listening to the stories of the Sailors about their careers and lives in the Navy.

“I never knew the type of submarines that are out patrolling the seas and their various missions,” Grote said. “The skill set that each Sailor has to have in order to operate the submarine was amazing. They are a very tight community and very passionate about their job duties.”

Grote highly recommend other educators and counselors attend the annual EOV.

“My experience of being on the EOV will definitely help me with answering questions that our high school students have about the military and will help me better guide them in making a decision on joining,” Grote said. “It will also help me better educate them on when to join and in explaining all the benefits the military has to offer them.”

According to NRD commanding officer, Cmdr. Nicholas Gamiz, the EOV participants came into the week with varying perspectives about the Navy, most of which were based on anecdotal stories.

“Our guests left with a greater appreciation for the remarkable Sailors they met, the level of professionalism exhibited, and the large breadth of mission areas the Navy covers, Gamiz said, who assumed command of NRD San Antonio in June. “As the EOV participants take this perspective back to their schools, they will undoubtedly generate a more positive community opinion of the Navy and those who choose to serve.”

The schools represented included Waco High School, Poteet High School, Eastside Memorial Early College High School, Bandera High School, Winston Churchill High School, Wagner High School, Midway High School and Baylor University.

“The investment into this program will reap great rewards for years to come, and the Navy should continue to commit resources to enhancing community relations in this way,” Gamiz said.

NRD San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes more than 34 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.

NRC consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 18 Navy Recruiting Districts and eight Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,330 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.