by Construction Electrician 2nd Alyssa Ware, U.S. Navy Public Affairs
The Month of the Military Spouse may be over, but it is important to appreciate military spouses all year long. Kristin McCormack is one spouse who wants to show her appreciation for her husband, Construction Mechanic 1st Class Darrell McCormack, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 on board Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport.
“I know it is a little backwards,” said Kristin, “but he is a spouse, so I think that is reason enough to recognize him.”
The McCormack’s have three children: Cody,19, who works for Morale Warfare and Recreation (MWR), Tyler, 16, and Zoey, 8 with Kristin being their step mom or “bonus mom” as McCormack says in appreciation for his all his wife does for their family.
CM1 McCormack is originally from Wichita Falls, Texas and has a technology degree from The Automotive Institute. He was a technician for about 10 years before he joined the U.S. Navy as a reservist in 2007. While in the Reserves, he was assigned to commands such as NMCB 15, Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 and Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG), where he deployed to Afghanistan for 10 months.
Currently, he is assigned to NMCB 1 where he has deployed to Guam twice. He works as a Maintenance and Material Management Coordinator (3MC). His responsibilities as a 3MC are to ensure the maintenance program is running efficiently and to update and maintain the materials needed for mission readiness. Without this program and the preventative maintenance of the battalion’s equipment, the battalion would not be able to deploy efficiently.
Out of all the responsibilities he has as a first class petty officer, Kristen says her husband believes the most important responsibility is to his junior troops.
“My husband is very humble,” said Kristin. “When you ask him about his career, he will mention his junior troops and what they have achieved. When you ask him about his life accomplishments, you will hear him raving about his three children and how they are growing up so quickly.”
His wife explained that you will never hear him brag about the time he went out of his way to help out a stranded Sailor because it was the right thing to do, or about the calls he gets from junior troops requesting his knowledge because they know he has the answer, or even the countless times he shaped the lives of junior troops who stayed in the Navy due to his efforts.
When asked what it is that CM1 McCormack enjoys most about his job he said, “Instructing. It is really rewarding when you help a shipmate that has been struggling and they suddenly figure it out on their own. Just seeing them have such self-gratitude when they learn a new skill or job set makes my day.”
McCormack is proud of his junior troops and looks forward to teaching and mentoring his shipmates. He also looks forward to becoming a chief one day. Kristen stated she has and always will be his support and motivator to keep him going.
