Leaving high school and moving on with your life has never been an easy task- and everyone takes different routes. Danielle Bender, a 2010 graduate, has proved true to the statement that nothing comes easy, and hard work and dedication is really how to achieve. After a 6-month deployment in Dubai, Egypt, Danielle has made her way back to her station in Washington (state) and shared with us just what she experienced in her journey across the world.
Danielle Bender, who is stationed in Washington state until 2016, went on an 8-month deployment to Dubai, Egypt- for 8 whole months. Danielle left her bunker back in Washington on August 27th, 2012, and set off to sea duty. She had orders to the USS John C. Stennis while she was still in Mississippi A-school learning about her job, also known as her “rate.”
About her initial feeling on getting sea duty in Dubai, Danielle said she was a little dismayed when she first found out what she would be doing for 8 months of her life. “I was upset about it because I didn’t want sea duty my first 4 years in,” she shared. “I was praying for shore duty but then I found out we were leaving on deployment to the Persian Gulf 2 weeks before I reported to my duty station.” While it was obvious this wasn’t a lot of time for Danielle to prepare, she said a large wave of depression and came with not knowing what she was to expect and what would come along.
Danielle joked, “Everyday felt like groundhogs day during my deployment.” She shared that it took about a month just to get to the 7th fleet (which means they were close to Asia), and then they ported in Malaysia just 2 weeks after porting in Thailand. Danielle went to Dubai a total of 3 times, and Bahrain once, because these were the only two places where it was safe enough for the ship to be able to pull in within the gulf area and have the sailors get out and enjoy some freedom.
When asked about what striked her the most about Dubai, Danielle answered “The architecture and cultures in Dubai were magnificent; it’s one of the richest cities in the world so you can only imagine.” She shared that the some of the buildings in Dubai were made of glass and shapes, and a lot of the buildings are spiraled and rounded, and taller than anything you would ever see in NYC.
Danielle added, “Overall Dubai is very Americanized, and we only stayed in Abu Dabi, where the main focus is to please the tourists.” She said it was the best port they hit while on deployment and she can’t wait to go back.
