{"id":58872,"date":"2014-11-01T13:29:33","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T17:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=58872"},"modified":"2014-11-01T13:29:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-01T17:29:33","slug":"oneida-natives-deploy-aboard-uss-makin-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=58872","title":{"rendered":"Oneida Natives Deploy Aboard USS Makin Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sailors<\/a><\/p>\n

Chief Electrician’s Mate Mark G. Marzella, left, and Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Lance D. Gormley are both from Oneida. Marzella is currently serving on his fifth deployment and Gormley is serving on his first. They are currently serving aboard USS Makin Island (LHD 8).
\n<\/em>
\nBy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robin W. Peak, USS Makin Island Public Affairs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Red Sea \u2013 Oct. 2014) \u00a0Chief Electrician’s Mate Mark G. Marzella, from Oneida, and 2000 graduate of Oneida High School, has been in the Navy for 14 years.
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Lance D. Gormley, also from Oneida and a 2008 graduate of Ithaca High School, has been in the Navy for six years.<\/p>\n

Marzella is currently serving on his fifth deployment and Gormley is serving on his first.<\/p>\n

They have been shipmates aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) for more than a year.<\/p>\n

“I sit down and talk with everyone [in my division] when they check aboard the ship,\u201d Marzella said. \u201cWhen I was talking with Gormley, at first, he said he was from upstate New York so I immediately said, ‘I’m from upstate New York. What town are you from?’ Then he said, ‘Oneida!'”<\/p>\n

“It made it a lot easier to acclimate to the command,” said Gormley. “I felt a lot more comfortable having someone from my hometown right in my shop.”<\/p>\n

The two natives of the small town just outside of Syracuse each had a different reason for joining the military.<\/p>\n

“I joined the Navy to travel,” said Marzella, “and as the economy turned, I stayed in because the Navy was a stable job. Before I knew it, I was halfway through my 20 years. And as I became a leader and mentor to young Sailors,” he gestured towards Gormley, “the more I realized I loved it.”<\/p>\n

Recalling his decision to join the military, Gormley said with a smirk, “I joined the Navy because my parents said, ‘You can get a job, go to school or join the military; whichever way, you have to move out.’ It was an ultimatum. I decided to join the Navy, and I have to say it’s probably one of the best decisions of my life.”<\/p>\n

The two Sailors are experiencing Makin Island’s second deployment.<\/p>\n

“Deployment is going well,” Marzella nodded and continued with poise. “We’re out here doing what we’re trained to do. With everything that is going on in the world, we are right in the middle of it doing our job effectively, and that’s what it’s all about.”<\/p>\n

“When I talk about this with my Sailors,\u201d Marzella added, \u00a0\u201cI explain it to them straight up, there are going to be hard days, but if you stick through it, there are going to be some very rewarding days as well.”<\/p>\n

“This is my first ship since I joined the Navy and my first command as an electrician’s mate,” said Gormley. “Chief did say it was going to be tough, and he told me not to expect it to be like my last command. I have had both, the bad and the good on deployment. It’s hard because this is the first deployment away from my family and that is a new experience for me.”<\/p>\n

As a small breach of sadness cracked the Sailor’s face, he shared an intimate moment. “My wife emailed one day that she had just dropped our son off at his first day at kindergarten. It really hit me that I’m on deployment and the sacrifice that our job entails.”<\/p>\n

“This is my job. I’m out here traveling to places like Hong Kong and Singapore,” Gormley said with growing stoicism and optimism. “I’m doing what I’m trained to do. My wife and I are planning to buy a house, so being able to save money out here is a huge plus.”<\/p>\n

For one Sailor having deployed numerous times and the other deploying for his first time, their goals reflect their experience.<\/p>\n

“My goal is this,” Marzella said definitively, “I left with 40 Sailors and I am coming home with 40 Sailors. It’s all about them on this one.”<\/p>\n

“Long term,” said the Chief, “I want to make it to 20 years and, who knows, if things keep going as good as they are now maybe longer.”<\/p>\n

Along with saving money for a house, Gormley said, “I want to get my [warfare] pins on deployment and advance further on my in-rate and ship qualifications. Also, I took the test for E-6, and I am hoping that I advance when the results come in.”<\/p>\n

Gormley says he continues to grow as a Sailor and he credits his Chief for pushing him and the rest of his division.<\/p>\n

“Chief is really gung-ho, pushing all of us in the division to our limits. He’s challenged me a lot, and he expects a lot of me as a senior second class.”<\/p>\n

Marzella looks forward to passing on the torch.<\/p>\n

“It’s good to watch him excel. He is doing very well, and he’s very self sufficient.” Very confidently, Marzella continued to say, “I see him making first class, and I see him running my division.”<\/p>\n

Upon hearing Marzella’s comments, Gormley’s eyebrows raised and he grew a big smile and said, “That’s very encouraging to hear. He sets the bar high and it’s good to know that he expects that of me.”<\/p>\n

Makin Island is part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and, with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), maintains its readiness to promote long-term regional security by conducting regularly scheduled, recurring exercises in the U.S. 5th fleet area of responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief Electrician’s Mate Mark G. Marzella, left, and Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Lance D. Gormley are both from Oneida. Marzella is currently serving on his fifth deployment and Gormley is serving on his first. They are currently serving aboard USS Makin Island (LHD 8). By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robin W. Peak, USS Makin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,21571],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-story","category-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}