A More Representative Submariner

While the news is full of reporting (and guessing) about an allegedly secret-selling submariner, it's important to remember that he's an outlier -- way more than three standard deviations from the mean. A more representative example of a submariner can be found over at Navy NewsStand -- CS2(SS) Matthew Julian of the USS San Francisco (SSN 711), currently serving as an IA with the Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Sharana. Here's his story:

As a culinary specialist assigned to the submarine USS San Francisco, Julian didn’t expect the tour to include a rotation in the mountains of Afghanistan as an Individual Augmentee, pulled from his normal job to directly support Operation Enduring Freedom.
But despite being an IA deployed more than eight thousand feet above sea level and half a world away from his boat’s homeport of Bremerton Wash., Julian found that out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind.
Julian was selected for the Command Advancement Program by Cdr. Dave Ogburn, the Commanding Officer of USS San Francisco, and on June 15 was promoted to Culinary Specialist Second-Class.
Learning of his CAP advancement, Julian said, “It is such an honor to be the only submariner CAP-ed in Afghanistan and recognized at such a high level. I am ecstatic about the promotion to Petty Officer Second Class and am grateful for the crew of the USS San Francisco.”
“When we sat down and reviewed his performance onboard, we saw that he was the right choice,” said Ogburn. “He is a Sailor who takes responsibility and takes charge. When I talked with Cdr. Varney in Afghanistan, that confirmed his performance is continuing out there.”
Cdr. Michael Varney, the commanding officer of the Sharana Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan, performed the ceremony and pinned on Julian’s second-class petty-officer crows.

The story has some pictures, too. Here's hoping Petty Officer Julian and all his desert shipmates get home safely.