ABOUT
THE SITE AUTHOR
ET2/ss
Peter J. Koester
Peter
J. Koester was born in the city of New York, growing up in Bayside,
Queens. After working in the civilian
world for a number of years, including jobs with Barnes & Noble Booksellers,
Blockbuster Video and the NYC Department of Transportation – Traffic
Enforcement Division, he enlisted in the US Navy in January of 1995 at the
tender age of 27.
Following
Recruit Training at RTC Great Lakes, Seaman Apprentice Koester transferred to
US Naval Submarine School in Groton, CT.
Over the next eight months, he attended Basic Enlisted Submarine School
(BESS) and the Submarine Electronics Technician Pipeline “A” School – a series
of Navy training courses that included Basic Electronics Training, Navigation
Principles, Interior Communications Principles, Submarine Damage Control and
Firefighting.
Following
graduation from “A” School, Seaman Koester received orders to the Navigation
Division aboard USS Providence SSN-719,
a 688 (Los Angeles) Class Fast Attack Submarine homeported at US Naval
Submarine Base New London, Groton, CT.
He Qualified in Submarines aboard USS
Providence on 24 January 1997.
Over
the course of the next nine years, Petty Officer Koester took part in three
overseas deployments (Northern Run in 1996, Arabian Gulf in 1998, and
Mediterranean and Red Seas in support of OIF/OEF in 2003) over the course of
two sea tours, divided by a three-year Shore Duty tour in the Repair Division
of Naval Submarine Support Facility New London (NSSF).
Within
weeks of returning from his last deployment, the Providence entered drydock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery,
ME, where the submarine underwent an Engineered Overhaul – the first performed
on a 688 Class Submarine at PNSY.
Petty
Officer Koester separated from the US Navy following the end of his second
enlistment on 15 November 2004.
Besides
the Submarine Warfare Qualification Pin, Petty Officer Peter J. Koester is
entitled to wear the Navy Achievement Medal, the Naval Unit Commendation (2
Awards), the Meritorious Unit Commendation (2 Awards), the Battle ‘E’, the Good
Conduct Medal (3 Awards), the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense
Medal (2 Awards), the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on
Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the
Sea-Service Deployment Ribbon (3 Awards), the Arctic Service Ribbon, and the
Rifle Marksman Ribbon.
To Contact the Author: SubGuySS@verizon.net
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