Van Wert native serves on Navy destroyer

VW independent/submitted information

NORFOLK, Virginia — A Van Wert native and Van Wert High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Samantha Fiegel is a fire controlman aboard the destroyer operating out of the Navy’s largest base. A Navy fire controlman is responsible for providing weapon direction systems employment recommendations.

“One lesson I bring from home to the Navy is the mindset that there are always ways to improve,” Fiegel 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.

Fiegel has military ties with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the family tradition.

“My parents, aunt, and uncle were in the Army,” Fiegel said. “I learned how to adapt, react to training, and work hard from my family.”

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

“The crew and mission are the best part of being on this ship,” Fiegel said.