Venmo\u2019d<\/a> him a donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cAt first I was a little hesitant, but then I was like, let\u2019s do it,\u201d Khanbalinov said. \u201cI never asked for a specific amount, I never told them how much someone else was donating\u2026but we had five people reach out, every rank. Junior sailors, senior sailors, officers, pilots, nukes, all of them contributed what they could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All told, Khanbalinov was able to fly three sailors home, and provide a bit of cash to two other lucky shipmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nominees had to have leave chits already approved and were available to fly, he said. Khanbalinov then assigned a number to each name and had Google select random digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to show even the most junior sailors that we may never see each other, you may never meet me, but at the end of the day, we\u2019re all a huge family,\u201d Khanbalinov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you need help with something, if you need assistance with something, if you\u2019re struggling with something, just ask someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the selectees were E-3s or below and several of them didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment by Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Machinist\u2019s Mate (Nuclear) 1st Class Danielle Traverso was one of the sailors who helped Chief Khan with his effort and she recalled what it was like being a junior sailor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne year I ate Chinese food and went to the movies,\u201d recalled Traverso, who is currently assigned to Los Angeles as a recruiter. \u201cYou\u2019re by yourself and it can really be a downer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traverso said she hopes their outreach helps junior sailors realize the Navy is a family and that they are valued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDay to day you might get lost on the bottom of the totem pole,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have a stack of people above you. But at least this shows that we are higher rank and we do care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n