(Mayport, Fla.) – A 2000 Bainbridge High School graduate and Bainbridge, Georgia, native provides key support as part of combat operations aboard future USS Billings, stationed at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
Lt. Tyrone Potter serves as an operations officer who is responsible for managing the scheduling and coordination of ships operations.
Potter credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Bainbridge.
“Growing in Brooklyn I learned early on that perseverance is the key to success,” said Potter. “Regardless of how challenging a task may seem, if you truly believe in your abilities and stay focused, you can accomplish anything.”
LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused- platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
The ship’s technological benefits allow for swapping mission packages quickly, meaning sailors can support multiple missions, such as surface warfare, mine warfare, or anti-submarine warfare. Designed to defeat threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft, littoral combat ships are a bold departure from traditional Navy shipbuilding programs. The LCS sustainment strategy was developed to take into account the unique design and manning of LCS and its associated mission modules.
According to Navy officials, the path to becoming an LCS sailor is a long one. Following an 18-month training pipeline, sailors have to qualify on a simulator that is nearly identical to the ship. This intense and realistic training pipeline allows sailors to execute their roles and responsibilities immediately upon stepping onboard.
Potter is now a part of a long-standing tradition of serving in the Navy our nation needs. Potter said they are proud to be part of a warfighting team that readily defends America at all times.
“I was previously enlisted and worked really hard to earn my degrees at the University of North Florida in Political Science and Criminal Justice,” said Potter. “Earning my commissioning and becoming a naval officer is the culmination of years of hard work.”
Potter is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the 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.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon capital assets, Potter and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
Serving in the Navy, Potter is learning about being a more respectable leader, sailor and person through handling numerous responsibilities.
“Having made the decision to serve in the Navy over 19 years ago means that I am part of an elite society that gave their lives to serving a purpose higher than themselves,” said Potter. “Not many people are willing to do what we’ve pledge our lives to do–to serve and protect this great nation even if it costs us everything.”
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