NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN – A 1995 Irvin High School graduate and El Paso, Texas native is a part of Naval Forces Central Command keeping watch over one of the world’s most volatile regions at Naval Support Activity, Bahrain.
Chief Petty Officer Rico Tate is an information systems technician at the Manama, Bahrain Navy base, forward-deployed to the Arabian Gulf in the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The Navy’s 5th Fleet’s area of operation encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse comprises 20 countries, including three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
“Maintaining various network systems has taken me around the world,” said Tate. “I've seen so much, been all over the world from Iraq to Croatia. Bahrain and the Middle East are more places for me to get to know.”
Tate is receiving firsthand experience working in a foreign country and being part of a team vital to our nation’s defense, keeping the world’s waterways open and safe from hostile forces.
“The Navy is all about training and developing leaders. Some of the Sailors here are about the same age as my kids. The Sailors here helped me be a better father and my children helped me be a better mentor,” said Tate.
The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s mission is to conduct maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts, and strengthen partner nations' maritime capabilities in order to promote security and stability in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
Tate realizes the significance of serving his country abroad and is very proud of the work he is doing as part of Naval Forces Central Command, Bahrain.
“When my father passed, the squadron was exceptionally kind and supportive. That solidified my decision that the Navy was the right choice and means so much to me and my family,” said Tate. “In fact my oldest in now serving in the Navy.”