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Mr. Sam is many things. He's forever a Coast Guard chief, a
cutterman by trade and a chief warrant officer by choice, but above
all he's a shipmate for life.
Known by those who work with
him as Mr. Sam, Chief Warrant Officer Richard Sambenedetto's motto
of “Shipmate For Life” is his way of saying, “You need to help a
fellow sailor out at sea - you only have each other.”
Mr.
Sam's presence does not go unnoticed. He is a tall and boisterous
man decked out in nautical tattoos that embody the sailor's spirit.
Even his feet are tattooed – a rooster on his right and a pig on his
left, representing a belief that those tattoos will keep a sailor
afloat at sea.
Stationed at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay
in Philadelphia, Mr. Sam places much emphasis on the importance of
mentoring others.
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Chief Warrant Officer Richard Sambenedetto stands on the pier at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
with his 'Shipmate' tattoo inset left. Sambenedetto is the finance and supply division chief within the logistics department at Sector Delaware Bay.(Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Coast Guard
photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen)
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“Between leadership and mentorship, you use your past
experience with current policy to help everyone out,” said
Mr. Sam. “No one's perfect.”
That mentorship extends
in every possible direction, from junior enlisted members to
the wardroom and the chiefs' mess – of which he is an active
member. He's worked closely with Master Chief Petty Officer
Brian Diner, who became Sector Delaware Bay's chief of the
mess in August 2015.
“In the last couple of months,
coming into the sector, I've really gotten to see Mr. Sam's
involvement in the chiefs' mess,” said Diner. “He's helped
me get to know who's who around here, and he brings 25 years
of experience. He has a solid history here.”
Diner
said Mr. Sam personifies what a chief is and what a chief is
supposed to do – be involved and always be available.
“He doesn't sugarcoat anything,” said Diner. “It's nice
to have such a straight shooter chief warrant officer as a
member of the chiefs' mess.”
The Coast Guard is
composed of individuals, but they do not complete the
mission individually, said Mr. Sam.
“It's not just
about you — it's about others,” said Mr. Sam. “It's a team.
You need active duty, reservists, auxiliarists and
civilians. Across all facets of that, everybody helps each
other out.”
CUTTERMAN BY TRADE
Mr. Sam learned
about teamwork early on, having served on multiple Coast
Guard cutters for a combined 10 years of sea time. His
primary duty was as a cook, but he was also a firearms
instructor, firefighting team leader, boarding officer and
supply officer, among other duties.
“Most colleges
only take your pay grade into effect — they don't
necessarily analyze your experience at sea to assign college
credits,” said Mr. Sam. “With over 10 years of sea time, I
always say, ‘I got a master's degree from the Atlantic Ocean
University!' You learn a lot out at sea.”
Imagine a
small group of people being limited to merely hundreds of
feet of walking space while floating at sea. They're bound
to form a fellowship and learn from each other. The numerous
cutters on which Mr. Sam has served varied in size and crew
complement, but the essence of a crew working together to
complete the mission was consistent. He likely has enough
sea stories to fill volumes of books.
At Sector
Delaware Bay, Mr. Sam is the finance and supply division
chief within the logistics department. His office is
reminiscent of a life at sea. Intricate nautical knotwork
adorns his workspace. More than a dozen ball caps represent
where he's served. Cmdr. Kurt Richter, chief of logistics at
Sector Delaware Bay, said Mr. Sam's motto of “Shipmate For
Life” is a good fit.
“I don't think I know anyone
else who has ‘Shipmate' tattooed on his knuckles,” said
Richter. “He's constantly looking out for his shipmates. On
a daily basis, I see people coming to him for mentoring and
counseling.”
A NEW NORMAL
Though Mr. Sam
continues to make himself available to his shipmates, he
faced a dramatic turn of events.
Mr. Sam was
diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease
that causes muscular weakness and fatigue. Among its
symptoms are impaired vision, difficulty swallowing and
slurred speech. He uses a cane for extra stability, but even
that is embellished in nautical knotwork reflecting his
cutterman pride.
“My whole career I've been helping
everybody, and now, ironically, I've got a medical condition
and now my shipmates are helping me out,” said Mr. Sam.
“That's very humbling. When you put pride aside, to be a
leader, you have to take care of others and lead from the
front. When junior members are coming up through the ranks
during peacetime, you let them lead. But when you're doing
an actual mission, do what you're trained to do and focus on
it. Now with my condition that's a little harder to do. The
simple things aren't so simple. The normal is now a new
normal. I just have to learn how to accept it and move on
with it, and it's through my shipmates I'm getting that
done.”
Mr. Sam's shipmates pitched in to help him in
a multitude of ways, but he's also getting help from a team
of medical professionals, including Lt. Cmdr. Jason B.
Buenaventura, D.O., a Public Health Service medical officer
assigned to Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, New
Jersey.
“The weakness is worsened by activity and is
better with rest,” said Buenaventura. “It is autoimmune,
meaning, the body produces antibodies that are attacking the
body itself.”
Buenaventura said myasthenia gravis
isn't contagious or inherited, and the cause is not known.
There isn't a cure for the disease, however, many treatment
options are available.
“Mr. Sam is actually the first
person I've ever met in my nine years of practicing who has
myasthenia gravis,” said Buenaventura. “This condition is
not very common at all, but every time I interact with him,
he seems to be in good spirits."
“I'm sure he's done
his research, and he understands what it means for him long
term,” said Buenaventura. “He was dealt this and he seems to
be such a very resilient individual that he's not going to
let it get to him. He's going to bounce back. I truly
believe that once we get the right treatments for him, he's
going to do fine — Shipmate For Life.”
Mr. Sam
received approval to get a service dog, though there is a
considerable amount of paperwork involved before he can
actually bring the dog home. He said the dog will help
tremendously with everyday tasks that have become more and
more burdensome to him, and he's doing everything in his
power to move the process along.
Despite his medical
condition and a looming medical retirement from the service,
Mr. Sam remains involved in mentoring his shipmates. He
continues to play a major role in the Chief's Call To
Indoctrination, a two-month process that transitions Coast
Guard men and women from junior enlisted to senior enlisted.
When talking about CCTI and its final events — the Rites of
Passage and the Acceptance Dinner — Mr. Sam said, “This is
my Super Bowl!”
As he prepares himself for the next
chapter of his life outside the Coast Guard, Mr. Sam said
he'd always stay connected to the chiefs' mess.
“I'll
handle it one task at a time,” said Mr. Sam. “In a storm, it
doesn't rain forever, but now I have to learn how to dance
in the rain.”
By U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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