Profiles of Dedication: Adam Shearin

09/14/2012
By Ralph Peters, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Portsmouth, Va.

Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Shearin near Mount Fuji during deployment while onbard the USS Thatch. (Photo provided by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Shearin)

Hailing from Columbia, Mo., Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Shearin had pursued his active interests in high school in a wide range of activities. Among them were sports including football, wrestling and track. As a gifted singer, he was involved in musical theater, chamber and show choir. His interests in computers and electronics and desire to be a Navy Corpsman, however would provide him opportunities in the active duty Navy to pursue various training and assignments in both fields which would lead to his desire to support the Armed Services Blood Program. He would eventually end up serving as a unit coordinator at his present assignment at the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic (NCTAMS LANT) located at Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, Va.

Shearin’s Naval experience began in 1993. He initially requested to be a corpsman but instead was given the opportunity to use his technical skills. In 1998, he was assigned to a unit in Guam where he learned to be a mobile communicator, for deployed SEAL Platoons. Afterwards he attended his first advanced or “C” school for Information Systems Administrator and was given an advanced technical assignment in London, England. Subsequent assignments and schools brought him to the forefront of hostilities with Iraq where upon he volunteered for the Navy’s Individual Augment Program.

“I was part of the first all U.S. Navy Squadron in Iraq and because of the growing threat of Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices the formation of Joint CREW Counter RCIED Composite Squadron ONE (JCCS-1) was formed where I was the only IT [serviceman] working in the role of an electronic warfare officer in Iraq,” said Shearin. “Since then, the Navy has deployed hundreds of qualified Sailors and I am extremely proud of the Squadron’s success for both my shipmates and my Army ‘battle buddies.’”

“Returning back to the U.S., I had a hard time adjusting from my time in Iraq. I was diagnosed with PTSD however, I was thankfully found fit for duty. After being assigned to NCTAMS LANT it was there that I saw the flyers from the Armed Services Blood Program to support those still serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I immediately volunteered to become the new Unit Coordinator and I am honored to be part of this program,” said Shearin. “I know firsthand the good this program does and I am willing to do everything I can to support its cause for the men and women still in harm’s way.”

To find out more about the Armed Services Blood program or to schedule an appointment, please visit us online: www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with some of our staff, see more photos or to get the latest news, visit us here: www.facebook.com/militaryblood, www.flickr.com/militaryblood and www.twitter.com/militaryblood.