NORFOLK, Va. — Fox 4 is connecting you to a few of our neighbors serving the nation in a weeklong dialog. We’re speaking about a number of the 30,000 sailors the Navy says joined this army department right here in Florida.

The general public isn’t allowed on a army base, so to assist our neighborhood perceive the angle, Fox 4 reporter Kaitlin Knapp was invited out to expertise life as a sailor on the largest Navy base on this planet.

Norfolk, Virginia is dwelling to many sailors who both lived in Florida or are from right here.

“There are all these superb issues happening inside, however the public would not get to see it,” mentioned Capt. Dave Hecht, the general public affairs officer for the Fleet Forces Command.

To begin life as a sailor, service members exhibit the various uniforms they’re answerable for.

“It’s a must to be fairly exact in your measurements,” mentioned First Class Petty Officer Jessica Mills.

The electrician is from California and is proud to put on her uniform.

“Carrying a uniform for the primary time I felt like a real skilled,” she mentioned.

Knowledgeable doing one in every of many roles within the Navy, which Kaitlin Knapp skilled, whereas additionally getting a have a look at what occurs throughout a flood or hearth on a ship. That ship: a submarine.

One of many sailors who work on them as a nuclear machinist is former Cape Coral resident Chief Ben Rosinus.

“I am in control of supervising every little thing from the primary engines to the facility era of the ship,” he mentioned.

Rosinus has served for 22 years and by no means forgets one of many many locations he calls dwelling.

“And I am simply grateful to the place I’m. Not only for the folks of Cape Coral, however throughout the nation,” he mentioned. “Being from a small city like that it type of means anybody on this planet and anybody within the nation can present that type of safety.”

For safety causes, we can not present you an excessive amount of contained in the submarine. Nonetheless, we did get a glimpse of the weapons on board and the place sailors sleep.

On the USS Albany, about 150 sailors can spend as much as three months underwater throughout a six-month deployment. They’re sleeping in small bunks and have restricted entry to meals earlier than resurfacing.

A sailor serving on the USS Albany is Petty Officer Third Class Gerry Ruiz. He is from Miami. Ruiz is in control of ordering provides for the submarine and compares his job to Amazon.

“I really feel very proud to do that,” he mentioned. “It is a New York boat, however I am nonetheless defending Florida not directly as a result of I’m going out with this warship.”

He says it is laborious to be away from dwelling and says all his associates are nonetheless there. Ruiz hopes to be stationed in Florida at some point.

“Miss all of you, I miss every little thing we used to do,” Ruiz mentioned.

For now, the hometown hero says he’ll proceed to make his household, buddy, nation and residential state proud. When requested what he loves about Florida a lot, Ruiz says the environment and the folks.