Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Joe Faucher\u2019s life took an unexpected and altruistic turn when he was a seaman apprentice and was \u201cvoluntold\u201d to help with a local branch of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps program near his Georgia duty station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a seaman apprentice and I know you have nothing to do, so show up,\u201d Faucher recalled the superior telling him. \u201cI showed up and fell in love with the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, the 24-year-old native of Waterbury, Connecticut, has donated most of his off time to running the program, while mentoring the young people who pass through, actions that propelled him as a finalist for the 2018 Military Times Sailor of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The congressionally chartered program aims to give kids from the ages of 10 to 18 a better sense of what military life can entail, and what it may offer them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In between deployments, Faucher has spent much of the past five years involved in the program, and rose to command its Augusta, Georgia, branch last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along the way, he has devoted 20 hours a week on average to running the program and mentoring the youth, often using his leave time to drive volunteers and kids to training weekends that align with Naval Reserve drill weekend schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI literally have my own division or department that I\u2019m responsible for outside of my Navy responsibilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Training for the young cadets can involve everything from boot camp to small boat operations, construction and cyber training, Faucher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While they have nothing to do with recruiting, Faucher said the aim is to get the kids to understand what a military career could offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in between Faucher\u2019s long days of signals and intelligence work, he has managed to add extra benefits to the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He implemented a series of programs that taught the kids current events and real-world skills, such as resume writing, checkbook balancing and how to do job interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThings they should learn in school, but they don\u2019t,\u201d Faucher said, adding that a similar program he went through as a youngster helped prepare him for the practical realities of adulthood. \u201cI wanted to make sure I could take some of that and pass it on to the kids we were working with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Faucher\u2019s duties can be demanding, he feels he must do it to the best of his abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe program is only as good as the adult volunteers,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the adults don\u2019t lead by example, then the kids really aren\u2019t going to get a whole lot out of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faucher said the program has allowed him to hone leadership skills, something that isn\u2019t always easy to do in his \u201cE-5 heavy\u201d Navy field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you can lead kids, you can lead adults,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just tell them to do something. You have to show them why what they\u2019re doing is valuable and what the benefit is to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along the way, Faucher has deployed several times, including aboard the amphibious transport dock Ponce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He joined that ship\u2019s crew in earning a combat action ribbon after Houthi rebels in Yemen fired missiles at the ship and several others in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faucher is in the midst of transferring to Hawaii and said he plans to continue with the cadet program there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way he sees it, he can help instill important lessons in America\u2019s youth who grow up in a society where partisan acrimony and tech addiction are the order of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis country is the most divided that it\u2019s been in a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a shift with technology where kids are raised with a smartphone in their hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imbuing kids with other skills they will need to succeed is tremendously gratifying, Faucher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have all these kids that I can look at and see that I made a difference in them,\u201d he said. \u201cShowing them that somebody who doesn\u2019t know them at all can care about them is a really rewarding feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faucher said he owes it all to Christian Soseman, the then-2nd class who originally voluntold him to get involved with the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGetting that opportunity to make a difference in a kid\u2019s life \u2014 it\u2019s the most rewarding feeling that I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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