ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Navy Reservists are often asked to support the mission in ways that can take them away from the job they were originally trained to do, making “Semper Gumby” an unofficial motto for Reserve Sailors.
Flexibility has certainly defined the career of Hull Technician 1st Class Alan Beacham. As a non-prior service enlisted Reservist, he was formally trained to perform tasks necessary for fabrication, installation and repair of all types of shipboard structures.
As a drilling reservist in Alaska, the opportunities to work on ships are few and far between, so to add value to the mission, Beacham currently serves as the funeral honors coordinator for Navy Operational Support Center Anchorage — a job he approaches with the seriousness and solemnity it demands.
“It is important for me to put my best effort into whatever the Navy needs from me,” said Beacham. “I am just grateful for the opportunity to serve my country.”
Recently, Beacham and four other Sailors from Naval Operation Support Center (NOSC) Anchorage were offered the opportunity to support Northern Edge 2021 (NE21), a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command exercise designed to provide high-end, realistic war fighter training, develop and improve joint interoperability, and enhance the combat readiness of participating forces.
The exercise provided a venue for large force employment training and multi-domain operations; tactical training for the full spectrum of conflict in support U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s experimental initiatives. For Beacham, it was an opportunity to put his active duty skillset front and center.
Beacham said he was glad to be able to jump into the training evolution as part of the exercise after several years watching it from the sidelines. According to Beacham, making an operational contribution during the era of strategic competition allowed him to not only learn more about his rating, but feel the satisfaction of service in a push toward operational readiness.
“Over the years, I have seen this exercise come to Alaska and now it is very rewarding to be a part of it,” said Beacham.
He said he hopes to be able to leverage his skills even further as the Navy Reserve shifts to a Mob-to-Billet mindset. And, as someone who is always striving for more, he hopes to provide more support to Northern Edge in the coming years.
“Hopefully we will leave a good impression this year and get the opportunity to do more in the future,” he said.
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