A Burlington, Vermont, native and Burlington High School graduate is serving in the US Navy aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason. Petty Officer 3rd Class Kabura Onesime is a gas turbine systems technician aboard the destroyer operating out of the Navy's largest base. A Navy gas turbine systems technician is responsible for engineering. "One lesson I bring from my hometown and apply to my job is my sense of pride," Onesime said.
More than 300 sailors serve aboard the ship, and their jobs are highly specialized. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments that keep the ship mission-ready at all times, according to Navy officials.
Navy guided-missile destroyers like USS Mason are multi-mission ships that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. They are equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons system.
"The Navy has made me more patient now than I was years ago, " said Onesime.
As a member of one of the US Navy's most relied-upon assets, Onesime and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"The engineering department is the best," Onesime said.