Today we feature another military man who found us while stationed in Iraq. After posting an ungodly amount in a short period of time he quickly became as essential to this community as milk, bread and a stick of butter are to your kitchen. I DO have a picture of Spynavy and it's totally badass but the gallery is giving us some troubles so it will have to wait for a bit.
Read on for the exciting profile and stay tuned for a new one next week!
Who the devil are you?
I am a 31 yr old Naval Intelligence Officer. I graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994 and am currently a Lieutenant Commander.
What are you supposed to be doing during the day when youÂ're reading GWJ?
I first started reading GWJ while in Iraq as it was one of the few web sites I could actually gain access to. I am currently standing a rotational watch as the Senior Collections Officer in the Pentagon's National Military Joint Intelligence Center.
When youÂ're not working or gaming, what do you do with your time?
When I am not working or gaming I am usually spending time with my family. This usually includes lots of "events" scheduled by Martha Stewart, er I mean my wife throughout the week and weekend. When not locked to the PC or Xbox I can normally be found tinkering around with house projects and maintenance, catching a movie and dinner with my wife, reading the occasional book or working out.
How about family? Do you have any kids?
Family - yep I have one. I am married and I have a 6 yr old son. My wife is a Foreign Affairs Officer working Terrorism Finance Issues at the State Department when she isnÂ't trying to beat Martha Stewart at her own game. My son is a "Gamer in training" or little GIT. He is the apple of my eye and constantly referred to as mini-me by my family.
What was your favorite game over the last year or so? Why?
Favorite Game over the last year - thatÂ's a tough one. I donÂ't think I can pick just one. Among the faves have been City of Heroes, KOTOR, BF1942 and its numerous mods, Rise of Nations and a good game of Joint Ops with the GWJ crew. Each of these games possessed the "Wow thatÂ's cool" factor in a number of ways and were able to keep my interest in playing them (regardless of how short that interest may have been).
Which game are you looking forward to most?
There are a number of games that I am most looking forward to, tough to pick one so I will just list a few. Guild Wars, EQ2, WoW, Half-Life 2 and Guild Wars are the top 5 on my list and I expect great things from each of them.
What is your fondest gaming memory?
My fondest gaming memory is probably the day my son who was less than 6 months old fell asleep in my lap while I was playing Madden. He hadnÂ't been sleeping well and I found that he was engrossed by the screen and the action and he would fall asleep while nestled in my lap - oh happy days... The moment that is purely game related is when the first headcrab jumps out at you from the dark while crawling through the dark air duct in the original Half-Life. I did my famed "screech like a girl" and nearly fell back in my chair - a phenomenal gaming moment.
Finally, why do you play games at all? Why havenÂ't you outgrown them?
I play games because I enjoy them. I find games to be more stimulating intellectually then any other form of electronic entertainment. They provide an "escape" and allow me to go places and do things that I would never be able to do in reality. I can conquer the world in Rise of Nations, be a gallant knight in WoW, silently stalk an opponent in Joint Ops, defend Earth from Hell in Doom and manage and play an NFL Football Team in ESPN NFL2K5. I havenÂ't outgrown them because I will likely always possess an inquisitive nature, thrive on competition, and retain the gift of a child's imagination and curiosity (if not the indestructible thumbs and lightning fast reflexes). I pity those adults who have lost the ability to "play" and have forgotten the enjoyment and wonder of their imagination. I seriously doubt I will outgrow my gaming "habit".
Thanks for taking the time to answer our hard hitting questions! Any last words?
GWJ has been a great experience, it has become more than a website to me. It has become a group of friends.
Comments
Great profile Spy. You've graduated on to prolific status on the site with your great posts.
no particular interest, no particular talent
Damn Spy you must be ugly... I've heard of breaking cameras by being ugly but breaking a website gallery! DAMN! J/K Nice Profile.
Edit: Dang... Pictures working.... must not have been the ugly factor.... Unless they found MY picture somewhere and tried to post it
SN, is your kid going to be one whiz-superspy, as spies' children also do in the movies?;)
P.S. My wife also single-handedly takes on Martha Stewart, be she always wants me to be her accomplice/henchman as well, and so there I go, hanging new doors at 30 past midnite and nailing moldings onto the wall at 9:30 in the morning.
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Great profile. Reading your profile and SwampYankee's has convinced me I really need to get a more impressive job. "Web developer" just isn't as sexy as "Naval Intelligence Officer."
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
Having grown up in DC as an officer's kid and then working at the shipyard out here in the Pacific NW I can tell you it's more impressive sounding than it really is.
Do you ever walk alone like a drifter in the dark?
Great Profile, Spy! You're right, it does seem like a bunch of friends more than just a BB.
"Silently Stalking" though? P'shaw I say. I always hear your rifle before everything goes dark.
XBox Live: SwampYankee68
STEAM: SwampYankee
Yeah, what Marlin said.
Good profile Spy, can't wait to see the "badass picture". Naval Intelligence Officer and Foreign Affairs Officer, wow my job looks even more unimpressive now.
Nice profile Spy. And I can relate to this site having become more then a website: Good, jolly bunch of folks indeed.
I think your definition of "git" differs from mine by a great deal. Then again, you probably don't watch that much BBC.
Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit. - Oscar Wilde
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. (Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) - Roedy Green
Picture up!
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman
I'd say he could take Sanjuro in a fair fight. Not Reaper, though.
I wish you guys would stop encouraging him.
EvilHomer3k wrote:You are an evil, evil person.
Baron Of Hell wrote:YOU VILLAIN!
Wow.
Those cosplayers are getting pretty good.
Good to see you!
Yes, I definitely enjoy the group of people here.
Except for the ones that beat me in ESPN 2k5.Those people are on the 'list'.
Pro is five years old. Karmajay has won it thrice, including back-to-back as of today. Does that qualify as a dynasty? -- Grumpicus
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2012, 2015, 2016
Another great profile....thanks for the insights......
"Eat Keel, Hellbug!"
I'm thinking he does, and it's a double meaning.
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Discord: Justinmwhitaker#4192
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Why he looks just like Captain Birdseye! [8-{|>
Without a beard of course. I like the cut of his jib anyway.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Churchill
LT. Commander? Holy crap! I didn't know I was supposed to be saying, 'Sir!' where appropriate when I spoke to you, Spy! Er... Sir!
Anyone who posted in this thread is a racist.*
*Except me. - Certis
Man, I get so used to people's avatars, Spy I expected you to be like SpyHomer - older, balding, fat.........Oh God, I just described myself....
Very cool picture, man. You should be proud of that.
XBox Live: SwampYankee68
STEAM: SwampYankee
Nicely done Spy. A pleasure to get to know you better.
Agreed with all of the above....SpyNavy is as top notch cool as we all suspected. Sounds like you have a powerhouse wife as well.
Heh... I can relate to that. When my daughter was that age, she loved watching football on the tv. Must have been the color and movement, but what a respite it provided
I love these features. They are part of what keeps this site more "personal". *sniff*... excuse me....
Plan to be spontaneous... tomorrow
Xbox Live/PSN/Steam/Nintendo: DoubleFour
I remember when Spy first appeared here. Brings a tear to my eye. He's grown up so much.
Final Warrior Quest - Play it for free!
Agent of Fate - Play it for free!
So this is likely a pretty stupid question (forgive me, I'm Canadian), but what does a naval intelligence officer do in Iraq? I can understand Naval operations in the gulf, were you stationed in Bagdhad as a command post for the fleet in the gulf? Why would there be a naval presence in Iraq proper as opposed to say Qatar (or has that base/location decommissioned?)
no particular interest, no particular talent
Marlin he have to kill you if he told you!
Yeah Spy is a ok in my book!
Oh I still owe you lunch too.
Spy helped me out with gmail account. Much appreciated.
Panem et circenses
"You really need to smoke a tree first to appreciate that one." - Sanjuro
I was deployed in support of the search for WMD in Iraq and assigned to the Iraq Survey Group and worked for Mr. Charles Duelfer (on the news recently about no WMD etc... since 1991). I was sent from the Joint Staff here in the Pentagon for 6 months to take care of unique intelligence collection requirements for the ISG. I did the Persian Gulf deployment as well, but that was a couple of years ago. It was a large scale coalition effort, my boss was Australian and we had British counterparts as well. You can google the Iraq Survey Group and get a better description of what the task was. The Wikipedia entry is pretty good and has links to other info... it will give you a general idea of what we were doing.
XBL Gamertag
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM "IF YOU SEEK PEACE... PREPARE FOR WAR"
PUBLIUS RENATUS, 390 AD
Cool, thanks Spy.
no particular interest, no particular talent
note the capitalized GIT vs the English git meaning...I'm sticking with that, and thinking of designing a t-shirt for my son, maybe a knight impaling a dragon while standing on a space marine or something...haha...and GIT on the back in FBI style letters...lol...he's 8, and leads me around the NWN VOS world that I help design...hahaha
Great profile Navy...always happy to meet a brother in arms!