From TCC to fighting terrorism

Tidewater Community College graduate Lt. Chris Blake joined the Navy to give his life direction. He certainly found it; the Navy “fast-tracked” him, providing him with many educational opportunities – today Blake serves as a highly trained naval officer fighting terrorism.

military training

Blake’s educational journey began in earnest before he boarded his first ship. He earned his Associate of Applied Science in Information Systems Technology right out of Navy “A” school, the program that trains information systems specialists for the fleet.

“My time at TCC was the beginning of a remarkably beneficial string of educational opportunities that spanned the last 10 years,” Blake says. He was selected for the Seaman to Admiral Enlisted Commissioning program and found himself back in the classroom, this time working toward a bachelor’s at Penn State University.

“It’s a testimony to the quality of my TCC degree that the Navy agreed to invest in my continuing education,” says Blake.

Back aboard ship, he worked in the information systems area, until changing course in 2006 and becoming a surface warfare officer.

He currently works in anti-terrorism, providing direction and implementing program changes to protect the 40,000 sailors in the fleet. “The Navy had a wake-up call after the U.S.S. Cole bombing and has taken anti-terrorism on board as a major area of focus.”

Blake, married with a young child, continues his studies at the Navy War College where he is working on a master’s in national security and strategic studies.