After four years at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, newly-minted Ensign Sheridan Catlin had a vague idea of what to expect from his first sea duty, the guided-missle destroyer USS Shoup.
“The whole experience, this ship and its personnel, have more than met my expectations,” he said Wednesday as he prepared to “man the rail” with his shipmates at Seafair’s Parade of Ships in Seattle.
“Everyone has been friendly and helpful as I try to fit in and learn my duties. Shipboard life is covered at school, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
Catlin, a graduate of South Whidbey High School Class of 2005, lettered in varsity football and wrestling and received the “Most Valuable Defensive Player” award for his football prowess.
“He’s the kind of kid that makes coaching football a real pleasure,” said Falcon coach Mark Hodson. “I just could not outwork that guy at practice.”
Catlin received two congressional nominations to attend the Naval Academy, from Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell, and received an offer of appointment from Navy Superintendent Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt.
He completed four years of intensive academic, physical and professional training in Annapolis, which included a strict, professional military-training environment that emphasized the development of leadership skills.
Catlin received his commission on May 22 and reported aboard his new command precisely one month later as an auxiliary engineering officer.
As a midshipman, Catlin was delayed in marrying his high school sweetheart, Kaitlin, so that was his first order of business upon returning to South Whidbey. His wife is enrolled in the nursing program at the University of Washington, so asking to be assigned to a ship not far from home made sense. The USS Shoup is homeported at Naval Station Everett.
Catlin explained the Navy’s ship selection process.
“The 270 surface warfare-designated midshipmen go into a room with all the homeports and billets listed on a board,” he said. “There were six available in Everett, and I chose the Shoup.”
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer spent five weeks at sea on training exercises then, following the warship’s public-relations stint at Seafair, was slated for an overhaul at its homeport.
Typically, the ship acts in support of an aircraft carrier task force — usually the USS Abraham Lincoln, a flattop based in Everett — but has the capability to conduct independent operations.
Catlin has a five-year commitment to the Navy and will spend two years on the Shoup.
He isn’t sure yet if he’ll make a career of it.
“I applied for the academy because I knew back in high school I wanted to serve my country in some meaningful way,” he said. “I love the Navy and being on this ship, but five years is a long time, so I’ll have to see how it goes,” he said.
So far, so good, said the Shoup’s chief engineer, Lt. John Baker.
“Ensign Catlin is fitting in well and getting ready to take on more responsibility,” Baker said.
Among his new duties will be taking charge of the engineering division that operates and maintains the steering gear and air conditioning units, vital components on a modern warship.
Each officer is also assigned various collateral duties and must stand watch on the bridge and main engine control room to cross-train in the event of an emergency.
The Shoup’s crew includes 40 women, officers and enlisted, who have their own assigned berthing spaces but are tasked with the same jobs throughout the ship as their male counterparts.
The Shoup participated in this year’s annual Fleet Week with her sister ship, the USS Momsen, plus the USCGC Bertholf, a Coast Guard cutter, and the HMCS Brandon and HMCS Nanaimo, two Canadian frigates.
Despite being one of the year’s hottest days, onboard were 250 civilians who had paid $20 each for the privilege of cruising Puget Sound for the day. The money collected is used for recreational programs for the sailors onboard.
As the Shoup slowly transited Elliot Bay at about six knots, visitors walked through passageways, climbed ladders and toured the different decks.
Following a “steel beach” barbecue on the vessel’s helicopter landing pad, the sailors manned the starboard rails in full dress white uniforms for the traditional salute to the city. Fireboats shot out great sprays of water, while helicopters and the Blue Angel flight demonstration squadron flew overhead as thousands lined the shore cheering.
Security was tight; the flotilla was shepherded by several armed Coast Guard inflatables, and the Shoup’s gunner’s mates set up two .50-caliber machine guns on an upper deck.
“This gives us a chance to show the people who pay for these ships what we do and where their money goes,” said Ensign Jacob Norton, the ship’s communications officer. “And it’s special because essentially the Shoup was born here in Seattle.”
Catlin, who lived in Freeland before joining the Navy, wasn’t the only person with Whidbey ties sailing with the Shoup for the Fleet Week parade.
Rick Blunt of Clinton was one of the civilians aboard. He has been riding Navy ships for six years.
“It’s fun to watch how things are done on a ship like this,” Blunt said. “This was the best, because the winds kept the hot weather at bay.”
It takes a lot of work to host hundreds of civilian ride-alongs, but the 300-plus crew of the Shoup maintained a cheerful attitude, helping guests find the “head,” cooking hundreds of hamburgers in the heat and setting up water stations for parched passengers on the ship’s missile-launch deck.
Ensign Catlin said he was looking forward to the day when he and his shipmates head out on his first seven-month deployment to foreign climes. Wednesday’s trip was only the second time he had gotten under way on a Navy warship as an officer.
“It’s going to be a serious challenge, but that’s what I signed up for,” he said.
“I’ll be ready.”
ABOUT USS SHOUP
USS SHOUP (DDG 86) is the 36th ship in the Arleigh Burke class of Aegis guided missile destroyers. She was commissioned in Seattle in 2002 and is homeported at Naval Station Everett. The SHOUP was built to conduct simultaneous warfare operations in multi-threat environments to include air, surface and subsurface targets.
The ship is named after Marine General David M. Shoup, 22nd commandant of the Marine Corps and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the South Pacific in World War II.
Length: 510 feet
Draft: 33 feet
Armament: AEGIS weapons system, including vertically-launched missiles, torpedoes,
5-inch gun and Phalanx close-in Gatling gun.
Engines: Four gas turbines running two propeller shafts.
Speed: 30-plus knots
Crew: 348
Officers: 32
For more information, visit www.shoup.navy.mil.
