What do you do?
I am in a mission critical position that is directly involved in emergency and routine warship repair.
How did you find your way into federal service? Did you always want to join up?
In the aftermath of the 2008 crises, I worked at a private elementary school. Colleagues and I were let go when school leadership decided to hire their friends’ kids. All of that “at-will” stuff horrified me, so I only sought government work from then on. I ended up in state government for a while, where I wasn’t paid all that well, but I directly helped the unemployed and saw firsthand how work can provide dignity and meaning. One day I saw a posting for my current job. The pay was more than what I would have ever gotten at the state, and I knew I had the skills required to learn the job, so I applied. Turned out the position was in high demand, so I got a call back quickly.
What does this work mean to you? Why is it important to you, personally?
I work near where a WWII aircraft carrier was repaired in 72 hours and returned to fight in the Pacific, and the departments I work with still achieve similar turnaround times. The workplace culture across all departments is deeply rooted in how hardworking the employees at this place have been since WWII, to an extent where, even today, the worst possible insult is to tell someone they are a shitty worker. My team is constantly working to prevent the taxpayer from being ripped off by private industry while also keeping our warships ready. We are also doing our best to fight the negative effects of having fewer industry vendors which we know are resulting in overpriced repairs.
Looking back on my career, I have found great purpose in fighting against unfairness, greed, and corruption in its many forms. I thought my primary focus in my current job would be to fight these things in terms of our interactions with the private sector, but my team will be impacted by illegal terminations of probationary workers, so I feel urgency in fighting for the dignity and meaning of their careers and livelihoods today. I am most honored to be involved in teaching these new employees and ensuring their success as the newest generation of federal workers. They are asking the right questions to excel in our service, and they deserve to be here because they are proving their worth on a daily basis.
What should be important about this work to Americans? Why does it matter?
Without us, warships requiring both emergency and routine repairs will not be repaired timely nor at a cost that is fair to the taxpayer. Without us, there will be no more wartime success stories. Loss of any members of my team will place America at risk of harm both in defense of ourselves and our allies.
What does all of this chaos and dysfunction mean to you? Do you have a sense of how it’s all going to impact your work and your mission?
For now, the chaos primarily makes me very angry on behalf of my newest employees, because I see how hard they work for the ordinary taxpayer, and for our national defense. Our day-to-day work hasn’t yet changed. We have all the necessary processes in place to keep doing our work and maintaining compliance with regulations. More broadly, however, I read the chaos and dysfunction as attempting, most ineffectively, to convince my team that we are shitty workers. Little do they know that we have joined a long line of employees who consider these to be fighting words. At each turn of this nightmare, I will do everything in my ability to protect my team, protect the ordinary taxpayer, and outlast this joke of an administration.
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