Go Navy Radio

Service Assignment: From the Highest Stars… To the Deepest Seas… USNA Graduates ‘Go the Distance’! Service Assignment: Sailing Beneath the Seas and Amongst the Stars In an incredible first for Go Navy! Radio, hosts George Watt and Chris Murch welcomed to the show (via a VERY long-distance call) two USNA graduates and NASA astronauts currently serving high above the earth aboard the International Space Station, Commander Sunita Williams ’87, USN, and Captain Mike Lopez-Alegria ’80, USN. To further illustrate the vast distances that USNA graduates’ service experiences take them, Midshipman Alexander Ludington ’07 and Lieutenant Commander Paul Behrends ’57, USN (Ret.) joined the show to relate what motivated them to become submariners.

Service Assignment: “Marines: Steely Blue-eyed Killers of the Sea” This segment of the show explored yet another avenue of service chosen by an increasing number of Naval Academy graduates (including host Chris Murch), the United States Marine Corps. Midshipman Scott Buchner ’07 joined the show to explain what influences directed him towards selecting USMC, while Captain Murph McCarthy ’00, USMC, phoned in to describe many of his own experiences in the Marine Corps, including three deployments overseas to Iraq. Service Assignment: Behind the Scenes with USNA Professional Programs In the final segment of the show, Commander Frank Hixenbaugh, USN, and Lieutenant Joe Gryder ’99, USN, from the Naval Academy’s Professional Programs, joined the show to provide a ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse into the service assignment process at the Naval Academy.