Sailor Story: Public Affairs Officer

[Navy for Moms Admin]

Sailor: Lt. Cmdr Wendy L. Snyder, Public Affairs Officer, Navy Region Europe – Naples, Italy
Mom: Joyce Snyder, Corning, N.Y.

As a college senior, Lt. Cmdr Wendy Snyder took a walk and stumbled onto a path that started her global journey with the U.S. Navy. At the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, Snyder was pursuing a degree in mathematics and, like many college seniors, was completely unsure of her post-graduation plans.

"In the mid 80s, career counseling that colleges offer now didn't exist. The Navy was not something I had been initially considering up until that day," she says of her fateful trip into the college recruiting office.

Snyder approached the Navy recruiter and was immediately drawn to the travel opportunities and the guidance she received. Her small town upbringing in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of upstate New York was full of wonderful memories and strong family bonds, but Snyder yearned for new, unfamiliar experiences.

Her parents learned of her decision via phone later after she met with the recruiter. After their initial shock – Snyder had not mentioned the Navy before – they were supportive, attending graduations and ceremonies across the country and always celebrating their daughter’s accolades.

Her mother, Joyce Snyder, who will soon turn 77, says she couldn't be more proud of her daughter. Reflecting on her family's unyielding support, Snyder says, "I'm so fortunate, because not everyone entering the military has that."

After graduation from SUNY Albany, Snyder departed for Boot Camp at the Navy Recruit Training Center in Orlando, Fla. Immediately after that, she was accepted into the Navy Seabees and left for training at Port Hueneme, Calif. The Seabees continue to hold a special place in her heart, as the experience gave her many opportunities to "do," as she likes to say. Using her math and science skills on a daily basis at the Construction Battalion Unit (CBU) 421 at Mare Island, Calif., as a surveyor, draftsman and soil analyst, she was "having a blast, seeing the world and learning along the way."

Snyder's first deployment took her to the permanently deployed Oceanographic Unit Five, USNS Harkness in Indonesia. Her duties included cartography, tide analysis and surveying on islands near the coast of Indonesia, such as Kuala Lumpur; Timor; and Darwin, Australia.

"I would be dropped off on the different islands, set up camp, do my thing and then be picked up a week later, and it was off to somewhere else. It was great," she says.

Her next stop was CBU 413 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as surveyor, draftsman and soil analyst. She went on to serve at the Navy Recruiting District New England in Boston, where she discovered her love of telling the Navy story to potential recruits.

"I had lived it and seen it, and it was great to be telling that story," Snyder says.

These experiences led her to Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Pensacola, Fla., where she became a Public Affairs Officer. In 2002, Snyder was deployed as a Strike Group Public Affairs Officer on the USS Constellation during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the first aircraft carrier to host a media embed program. For seven months, she acted as communications personnel for the 5,000 Sailors aboard the Constellation and attended to the 35 to 40 journalists who were embedded with the crew.

"It was one of my top experiences with the Navy, very exciting to be traveling with members of senior staff with an incredibly important mission," she says.

Currently, Snyder is stationed in Naples, Italy, as a Public Affairs Officer. She enjoys living among the locals with her husband, a Lt.j.g. in the Navy Reserve, who serves as an Intelligence Officer. She jokes, "Our dinner conversations aren't usually about work, because he can't tell me anything!"

Looking at her career with the Navy and reflecting on how the diverse experiences and world events have shaped the reasons why she is proud to serve her country, she says: "I'm here to protect our Constitution, our freedoms. This is my contribution to world peace."

[diane {Shawns mom}]

thanks for sharing