By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Sailors are some of the most highly-trained people on the planet, according to Navy officials, and this training requires highly-dedicated instructors.
At Naval Education and Training command, instructors at advanced technical schools teach sailors to be highly skilled, operational and combat ready warfighters, while providing the tools and opportunities for continuous learning and development.
Fireman Avelino Alvarado, a native of Buena Park, is a student at NETC, learning the necessary skills needed to be a machinist’s mate.
A machinist’s mate is responsible for maintaining engines, checking valves and performing overall maintenance onboard Navy warships.
Students attend advanced technical schools after “boot camp.” They are taught the basic technical knowledge and skills required to be successful in their new careers.
Alvarado, a 2018 graduate of Buena Park High School, credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Buena Park.
“I learned time-management, a hard work ethic and a never quit attitude,” Alvarado said.
NETC educates and trains those who serve, providing the tools and opportunities which enable life-long learning, professional and personal growth and development, ensuring fleet readiness and mission accomplishment.
NETC is made up of six commands that provide a continuum of professional education and training in support of Surface Navy requirements that prepare enlisted sailors and officers to serve at sea, providing apprentice and specialized skills training to 7,500 sailors a year.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Alvarado plays an important role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Alvarado, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Alvarado is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“I have two uncles, one in the Army in a Cavalry Unit stationed in Germany and the other is in the Marine Corps stationed in San Diego as a supply clerk,” Alvarado said. “It’s an honor to follow in their footsteps and serve my country as they are doing.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Alvarado and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I’ve always wanted to join the Armed Forces and serve my country; it has always been a dream of mine,” Alvarado said.
