THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602200282
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Wendy Littrell says her job maintaining major communications systems calls for a person with lots of patience, someone who is persistent when it comes to problem-solving.
``I feel like my job has a purpose,'' said the Winchester, Va., native. ``I like the idea of trouble-shooting, and I like understanding how systems work. Plus, I know how to operate the equipment.''
The systems Littrell helps keep trouble-free are computers, telephones, printers and radio receivers used for gathering global information at the Northwest Naval Security Group Activity in Chesapeake.
Each work day she reports to a shop where she joins 25 other sailors who repair equipment there and receive assignments to do repairs in offices all over the communications base. The shop is open around the clock.
Repairs usually need to be made, she said, for one of two reasons: faulty equipment or operator error. Operator error sometimes includes food or soft drinks spilled onto computer keyboards.
Just about the only thing Littrell doesn't like about being a cryptological maintenance technician is ``that the work isn't steady.''
Littrell was recently named 1996 Junior Sailor of the Year at Northwest for her past and present job performance and community involvement. She and her husband, ``Bucky,'' who is not in the Navy, will move to Puerto Rico in June. MEMO: Duty Calls runs every other week. To submit suggestions on jobs you'd
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ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Wendy Littrell
ON THE JOB
Name: Petty Officer 3rd Class Wendy Littrell, 22
Job: Cryptological technical maintenance
Duty station: Northwest Naval Security Group Activity,
Chesapeake
Years in military: 4
by CNB