NAVAL COMMUNICATOR
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
I'm sailor first class Catherine Bernard. I'm from White Rock, B.C. and I'm a naval communicator.
NARRATOR:
Naval communicators or Navy Comms establish and maintain communications on board Canadian warships and submarines to stay in contact with allies at sea, shore units, and family and friends. On the bridge, Nav Comms handle voice circuits with other ships - advising leaders on tactical signaling and fleet exercises with quick judgment. In the communications control room, they handle all long range radio and satellite communications.
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
I like to say that the naval communicators are the ears and mouth of the ship. It's very action packed when you're sitting up here on the bridge, because you're going to be the ones talking to all the other ships that are sailing around you. You're going to be making sure that the officer of the watch is staying in his station, making sure that we're not going to be crashing into any of the other ships, making sure everyone knows what's going on around them as well as what's going to be happening.
NARRATOR:
Computer network administration specialists within the Navcom occupation maintain the administrative and operational networks on ships and on shore. They ensure all services, applications and data on these networks function according to their specifications. Navcoms receive I.T. training to operate networks in live environments and provide desktop support, servers support, network support, hardware support, compliance, and security.
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
When you're on board ship, Naval Communicator could be considered like your first line responder in the I.T. world. Any time someone has an I.T. problem, we're going to be the first ones to go and assist them. We also help set up everyone's accounts, make sure everyone's e-mails are flowing smoothly. We set up our networks so that everyone can use - and we also set up our voice circuits so that we're able to communicate off the ship.
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
Being a naval communicator, we work with secret and top secret information as well as unclassified information. But knowing all those secrets that are coming on board, super cool because we're going to be the ones that are being trusted with this information and we're passing it on to a very limited amount of people. So you have to be able to keep those secrets.
NARRATOR:
Nav Comms also have duties such as Watch Keeper or sentry, line handler on the main deck and ship's hand when entering or leaving port. They take part in search and rescue activities, force protection and mid-ocean replenishment operations. They may also have the opportunity to join the ship's dive team or boarding party.
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
My favorite part of the job is working up here because the communications control room you're working with about the same 6 to 12 people at a time. Whereas when you're working on the bridge, you're working with your friends, you're working with the officers, you get to know people a lot more. You get to hang out with other sailors on the ship.
S1 KATHARINE BERNARD:
I'm also a really big fan of going to the other ports and seeing the world while we're sailing around.
Apart from visiting Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which I think is most sailors, one of their coolest places to go, seeing the history there, my favorite port that I've been to would have to be Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I really enjoyed seeing the Batu Caves Temple and I liked experiencing their culture and how they live over there.
And I really liked the city. At the Batu Caves is monkeys everywhere. They're crawling all over the walls in the temple, it was insane.
I think working a regular job would be more scary than being in the Navy, because when you're sitting at a desk, you're not really experiencing the world or what the world has to offer you, and in the Navy, for me at least, I find it very valuable. And I think it's a really good use of my time because I get to experience everything and I get paid while I do it.