FORT KNOX, KY. – Everything had led to this moment. Cadets assigned to 2nd Regiment, Advanced Camp embarked on field training exercise “Grizzly,” their final graded lane. This was all that stood between them and graduation. The final hurdle before they could see their families again. A moment Cadet Stephen Andrews, University of Hawaii, couldn’t wait for.

At home, he had a wife and 7-month-old daughter waiting for him. During his time in the Navy, enlisted for six years, Andrews had been on two deployments, but being here was the hardest of all. Leaving his wife to go on the deployments was not easy, but leaving his daughter for CST was incomparable.

“As soon as we had my daughter,” he said, “everything changed.”

Since she is so young, Andrews felt he was missing his daughter more than she was missing him. 

“She’s not really cognizant now,” he said, “but I’m cognizant and I think that’s what’s hard about it.”

While at CST, Andrews missed critical steps in her development as a baby. The thought of that has been difficult, but he thinks it is a sacrifice that will be worth it in the long run.

“In the back of my head, it’s for a good purpose.

Andrews joined the Navy in 2019 to escape where he was living. He wasn’t making the best decisions and his life was headed down a bad path. 

“Had I not joined,” he said, “I think I would either be dead or in prison.”

 He wants to provide his daughter a better life than he had.

“In order to do that,” he said, “I have to execute this to the best of my ability.”

As a squad leader on one of the missions during Grizzly, he was doing just that. As they prepared to conduct a raid, he was taking information and plans from the platoon leader and disseminating it to the team leaders. He made sure his squad was prepared to head out on the mission and conduct the raid. Andrews ensured his squad had plenty of water and ammunition for their weapons. He made sure that they touched up their camouflage face paint, trying to blend in better with the environment and keep the enemy from spotting them in the woods. The care and devotion he showed to his squad and the mission was no doubt influenced by his experiences with fatherhood. 

“Being a father,” he said, “has been one of my biggest driving factors.”

With his daughter as motivation, Andrews led his squad to successfully execute the mission. Just one more mission was left until nothing stood in the way of Andrews being reunited with his family.