Sanders Native serves in Navy aboard aircraft carrier dubbed “Strength from the Sea”

By: Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach

Photo credit: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Teddy Quintana

SAN DIEGO – A 2008 Sanders Valley High School graduate and Sanders, Arizona native is serving on one of the world’s largest warships, USS Carl Vinson.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Shantil Scott is a culinary specialist aboard the San-Diego based ship, the third Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and one of only 11 operational aircraft carriers in the Navy today.

As a culinary specialist, Scott is responsible for cooking for the ship's crew specializing in baking deserts that boosts the crew’s moral while on deployment.

“You would be surprised what chocolate chip cookies will do,” she said.

Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard Vinson. Approximately 3,000 men and women make up the ship’s company, and they keep all parts of the aircraft carrier running. They do everything from preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors. Additionally, another 2,000 sailors comprise the air wing.  These are the people who fly and maintain the aircraft embarked aboard the ship.

Scott has carried lessons learned from her hometown into her military service.

“Coming from a small town has taught me to be open minded to new surroundings that are different,” she said. “Serving in the Navy gives me the opportunity to work with sailors from all walks of life and traveling to different countries and experiencing their cultures with an open mind, makes these experiences most enjoyable. 

Vinson, like each of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life. When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 60 attack fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.

Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship, and those planes land upon their return to the aircraft carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft. All of this makes Vinson a self-contained mobile airport and strike platform, often the first response to a global crisis because of an aircraft carrier’s ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.

The ship was commissioned in 1982 and named after former Georgia Congressman, Carl Vinson. A member of the United States House of Representatives for 50 years, he was, for 29 years, the Chairman of the House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee.  Vinson was the principal sponsor of the so-called "Vinson Acts," culminating in the Two-Ocean Navy Act of 1940, which provided for the massive naval shipbuilding effort in World War II.

“Carl Vinson was a visionary congressman,” said Capt. Douglas Verissimo, commanding officer of USS Carl Vinson. “His support led to a stronger Navy that was pivotal in winning World War II and the Cold War. Our Sailors embody his commitment to service and bring to life a warship that has been an enduring asset to America’s defense for more than 35 years.”

Scott’s proudest accomplishment, was making the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class and receiving command coins for her exceptional culinary skills.

“I’m proud of achieving this rank because it gives me the ability to teach and lead junior sailors to succeed in their job. Receiving the coins was an appreciation from my leaders for all the hard work I did during deployment,” she added.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Scott and other Vinson sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.

“It means an investment to my future and it's given me the ability to leave home and travel as well as getting an education,” said Scott.