When I moved on to high school, there wasn’t even a computer lab. In my second year of high school, a new computer lab was installed, and a greater interest began to start trickling into me. I was able to, even though I wasn’t supposed to, create a myspace so I could connect with my friends. It was the age of emerging network technology. I found myself with a newfound curiosity in technology from the simple games of my uncle to my new blue-backlit Nokia cell phone. Yes, I had snake, and it was the best game ever created. I started to become engrossed in a desire to learn about new technology.

The First Real Step

My first real step into the realm of new technology came in 2006 when I got my first smartphone. It was know as the Motorola Razr, and it was the coolest thing around at the time. I was about to enter my first college and I wanted to be the cool kid on the block. I worked hard over the summer and bought the phone as I entered my first year of college. Most people as soon as I got there had not seen a phone like that. It had been out for a few years, but it was expensive, and most college student types couldn’t afford it. At this point in time, when it came to new technology, everyone believed all the hype of the ads. “This phone is indestructible!” they said. I learned the hard way that everything they tell you about new tech is not always the truth. I told everyone that it was and staged a viewing of people that wanted to watch me drop it down a flight of stairs. It did not go well. The phone hit once, hit twice, and broke completely in half. At the time, this was horrible, but looking back now it was kind of a gift. With the no longer working phone, I was able to take it apart in my spare time and learn about all the inner workings. Just more to turn my life into one based on technology. I never ended up finishing college, just decided to be the cool dropout… bad choice.

The Next Steps

I ended up engrossed in a certain Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) called World of Warcraft. I spent years playing this game. Not only was I always in contact with other computer geeks that I started learning so much from, but I wanted my computer setup to be able to play all the newest parts of the game. That means I had to start asking questions and doing research into what I could do to upgrade my own computer setup and what each thing within it did. It started to become part of the game to talk about computers and what the next big thing was. It was so fun to learn and utilize new CPUs, graphics cards, and everything else, but there was a problem. This fun and interesting hobby that I had given up so much life for, didn’t pay the bills. I had just met my now wife and things were going great. I had to figure out how I was going to support my self and become a man worthy of her. I bounced around from job to job and barely made ends meet for four years. With her help, I finally decided to make a choice that would alter my path of life again… I joined the Navy.

At this point in my life, I had a love for technology and all of the things I could do with it or make it do for me. I was worried that the military was just going to be a job that I had to withstand in order to start a family and be able to take care of them. I made two choices in the Navy that have put me on track to be here today: I chose to join as Advanced Electronics/Computer Field (AECF) and I chose to become and Aegis Computer Network Technician (ACNT). What do these have to do with my choice to go into the computer field? According to Navy.com (n.d.), AECF is:

“As one of only two ratings in the Advanced Electronics/Computer Field (AECF), you will operate, maintain and control everything from radars, fire control systems and computer systems to the Navy’s most advanced missile system, Aegis, which uses radar technology to detect, track and eliminate targets all in one.“

According to the Manual of Navy Enlisted Manpower and Personnel Classifications and Occupational Standards (2023), an ACNT is defined as someone who:

“Performs maintenance on AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) Mk 6 MOD 0 Computing Infrastructure (ACI) Client/Server Nodes and Networks, supported by core courses of Computer Networking, UNIX/Linux Operating System, and CISCO IOS training.  Maintains the AWS Enterprise Computing Network of Layer 2 (switching) and Layer 3 (routing) switch devices and their interfacing nodes including the Mission Critical Equipment (MCE) cabinets containing the subassemblies of CISCO Nexus network switches, Themis RES Servers purposed as Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers, DOT Hill Storage Area Network (SAN), Emerson ATCA AXP1440 Tactical Server Chassis containing ATCA-7480 Blades, ATCA-F140 Network Switches, ATCA-PEM (Power Entry Modules), ATCA-Shelf Managers, as well as the Thin Client Display group.  Maintains the Common Display (CDS) display consoles with locally installed Themis processors used to support all ship’s missions including BMD.  Maintains the Digital Video Distribution System (DiVDS) MCE cabinets for large screen, status board video projection, including various video inputs from surveillance cameras and video players as well as the Data Distribution System MCE cabinet equipment that provides the tactical radar sweep and video to the CDS display consoles.  AEGIS Combat System (ACS) equipment maintained by the ACNT technician includes the cooling water skid, the T52 Training Interface Unit (TIU) used with the Advanced Training Domain (ATD), the Secure Voice System (SVS), surveillance cameras, and the Gun Weapon System (GWS) processors and CDS consoles.  Operates and maintains the Operational Readiness Test System (ORTS) Servers, Thin Client Displays (TCD), Virtual Data Acquisition Converters (VDAC) and Data Busses for testing and Fault Detection/Fault Isolation (FD/FI) for the AWS.” (p. 157)

It is a lot to take in, but my choices led me into a computer and technology field within the Navy. When I was lost for years, my joining the Navy led me right back into a job field where I worked with computers everyday of my life. I was getting more experience with computer and server systems and having a great time learning it all. I love my job in the Navy, but Navy life just isn’t conducive to family life. I had now reached a fork in my road and had to make a choice to stay in the Navy and give up that family time, or move on to a different career. I made my choice to move on but there was one last hurdle I had to make it over to be where I wanted to be… college.

The Final Hurdle

College is not the easiest thing to do. Now add on to that a job in which you work way too many hours and can’t even call off sick, as well as a family, pets, and a home, and it becomes exponentially more difficult. From the start of college at Old Dominion University (ODU) I have known that it would only get more difficult to complete, but I knew now that technology was the field I wanted to be in. Having the last 10 years helped me become more entwined with technology, I had the chance to sit back and decide what it was I wanted to do with my life. I decided that I wanted to become a Penetration tester and help people. I have been infatuated with the art of being able to hack into another system and with the military at my back, defense was the only option for me. To be able to think like an attacker and use that to defend was intriguing to me. Cybersecurity was the only option for me. The more classes I took, from Cyber Ethics to Ethical Hacking, the more I could see myself in this field and actually enjoy my everyday life. I worked hard everyday to maintain a balance of personal, work, school. I have an advisor that would sit and talk with me and just listening to him be an all-around happy guy and hear what he had to complete to get here made me feel at ease. I knew with all the support that I was receiving from all around me I would be able to clear the last hurdle.

Conclusion

 I am now in my final semester of college, and everything is looking wonderful. I feel the joy of becoming the first in my family to get a bachelor’s degree. I want my kids, wife, and family to be proud of me and know they can do anything they set their mind to. With this last piece of college fleeting, I know that I am now prepared for my new life in a new field, and I can look back at how I got here and be filled with happiness. These are the small things that have had a big and wonderful impact on me and my life.

References

MANUAL OF NAVY ENLISTED MANPOWER AND PERSONNEL CLASSIFICATIONS AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS. (2023). (Vol. II). Department Of The Navy.   

McAdams, D. P. (2001). The Psychology of Life Stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100-122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100

U.S. Navy fire controlman careers. U.S. Navy Fire Controlman Careers | Navy.com. (n.d.). https://www.navy.com/careers-benefits/careers/electronics-technology/fire-controlman#:~:text=As%20one%20of%20only%20two,eliminate%20targets%20all%20in%20one