WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When you think of the U.S. Navy, you might think of big ships out at sea around the world.
But right here in Palm Beach County, up to 200 sailors train every month. They are part of the U.S. Navy Reserve.
WPTV anchor and Navy veteran Mike Trim spoke with sailors and the commanding officer to show what goes on at the Navy Reserve Center in West Palm Beach.
Trim asked Cmdr. Jason Howell about the manpower the reserve center holds.
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"Do you think the public knows what the reservists do here in Palm Beach County?" Trim asked.
"I think they have a general idea, but I don't think they're completely aware of what goes on here," Howell answered.
SouthTech Academy graduate, Palm Beach County resident and Petty Officer 2nd Class Vanessa Cardozo Zenteno is working active duty at the Reserve Center. She talked about balancing family, civilian and military life.
"You do have those ups and downs where you have now family, you have your job, but at least on my side, I have a great family that helps me with my kids," Cardozo Zenteno said.
Reservists are part-time sailors by title. Up to 200 are required to train here at the center one weekend a month and 12 days straight at one point during the year. Almost all of them balance having civilian jobs as well.
"We're part of the military," Cardozo Zenteno said. "We have to change our mindset because we know we have to be mission-ready. It's different. And when we go back to civilians, we have to be a little more soft."
It's a similar story for Chief Edward Cutie.
"My civilian job is a sergeant with the Fort Myers Police Department," Cutie said. "It's just trying to juggle that, you know, losing that personal time with the family and then trying to find a way to make that up."
Trim also spoke with Reserve Master Chief Miguel Sweeney, who has worked as a firefighter in fire-rescue departments in Miami-Dade County.
"The challenging part is depending on your supervisor of your civilian job," Sweeney said. "If they don't have a military background, they don't understand it, and they expect you to be there 24-7."
Sweeney said the Navy has helped him in his civilian job.
"So those certifications that I have in the Navy helped me get the job as a firefighter," he said. "I was able to apply, and three months later I was hired."
Operations at the Reserve Center include creating ID cards for military retirees and contractors and making sure military records are in order if a sailor gets called into full-time active duty.
Howell leads the charge here — an active duty full-time role.
"Your typical reservist is managing three aspects of their life at any given time — their personal life, their civilian job life and their Navy life," Howell said. "As small as we are, there is a Navy and Marine Corps and military presence here in Palm Beach County."
