The Good Life – July-August 2020

NAVY VETERAN
In addition to serving as a damage controlman doing firefighting and ship
preservation, Tibiatowski was also part of the security force, working closely
with the Coast Guard. “We would go out into international waters near Mexico
and Panama and board ships that were carrying drugs. There were yachts with
helicopters on top of them dropping drugs. We had boats trying to outrun us and
even to ram us. We were a strong steel ship, so trying to ram us just wasn’t going
to happen. I experienced some interesting situations, some of which I can’t talk
about.”
Tibiatowski describes boarding a yacht near Mexico: “They were trying to outrun
us and throwing drugs in the water when we finally stopped them. We pointed
all of our weapons at them. We watched the Coast Guard board their vessel. The
smugglers’ hands were zip tied. They were brought aboard our ship and spent a
few hours in a blocked off passageway as we did not have a brig on board. They
were eventually picked up by the Mexican police.”
Tibiatowski then went to San Diego:
“I chose to stay stateside and to be
on the USS Chandler DDG 996 – a
guided missile destroyer. I selected the
Navy because I wanted to travel and,
honestly, it paid the most.” He added,
“Did you know that USS stands for
United States Ship? Many people don’t
know that.”
Tibiatowski said that one of “the scariest moments” of his service was when an
Iraqi aircraft was within 26 miles of his ship and enemy aircraft are not allowed
to get within 32 miles of a USS: “We had this Iraqi aircraft coming straight
towards us and we were literally seconds from letting our missiles go. Usually
when you are out at sea you don’t have something like that happen. But when you
have someone coming at you, it is different.”
Stationed out of San Diego,
Tibiatowski went on several Western
Pacific deployments (WESTPACs)
from 1990-1994 on the USS Chandler
and stopped at many ports all over
the world, including Iraq, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and
more. He added, “In addition to the
work, we did also get to have some
necessary stress relief and fun on the
way, stopping in Guam, the Philippines
and Hawaii.”
His first WESTPAC was during
Operation Desert Storm from January-
July 1991 and the second was from
June 1993 - January 1994. During
that time he was part of the Battle
of Mogadishu – Operation Gothic
Serpent.
“Because of my time in the service, I am more focused.
I treat my everyday life with focus. My kids may say
that some days I act like a drill sergeant. Discipline is
still a big thing for me.” – Tibiatowski
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