JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The city of Miami held its inaugural 'Fleet Week' earlier this month, and a sailor from Jacksonville was at the heart of it all. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jalin Farrie takes us through his experience with Fleet Week Miami.
After ships came into the Port of Miami and citizens flooded their decks to get an up-close look at life in the Navy, Farrie, a First Coast High School alum, describes what Fleet Week is like for a sailor.
"It means a lot, kind of feels like home even though I'm from Jacksonville, nice weather and everything," Farrie told First Coast News. "It's fun to basically be able to show off all the hard work that we put into it."
Fleet Week Miami wasn't just filled with military displays, there were also concerts and activities around town for the sailors.
"Coming off a 9-month deployment, it's been really hard," said Farrie. "So, to be able to enjoy the festivities, [it] has been a blast."
Farrie was a member of JROTC while he was in high school, but has plenty of experience with the Navy. His dad is a retired chief and his uncle is a retired master chief, so Farrie is continuing the family legacy.
"It means a lot, every time I put on this uniform, it shows I represent their last name," Farrie said, who added that he might continue putting on that uniform for many years to come. "At first, I thought I was going to take it a contract at a time to make the decision, but with being a corpsman, there's so many opportunities in the medical field, I fell in love with it."
We know that all of Farrie's family and friends in Jacksonville are proud of the work he's doing and we thank him for his service. If you have a Story of Service that you would like First Coast News to profile, send an email to storiesofservice@firstcoastnews.com.