Heroes 52 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine from top: courtesy photo; aaron rosa heredidyougrowupinMaine? I was the youngest of six kids in Lewiston. My father was the Commander of the Lewiston Police Department. I let- tered and was all-state in both hockey and football. My favorite sport was hockey, and I loved the Lewiston/St. Dom’s rivalry. Maineistheperfectgardentoplanttheseedsofadven- ture. Whatwasyourchildhoodlike? I was always outside. Always. It was on- ly ‘when the street lights come on’ that we were supposed to go home. Other than that, get out of the house! I was always in the woods. Whatyeardidyoujoin,andwhatinspiredyou? In 1999, I was at Plymouth State Uni- versity to play hockey, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the academic side. I knew I needed to do something else. Both my brother and brother-in-law were in the Navy, so I enlisted. Whatisyourrating? I am the Leading Chief Petty Officer of Electrical Division on DDG-1000, the USS Zumwalt, the most technologically sophis- ticated war ship in the world. I’m responsi- ble for the upkeep of electrical components and power management of 78 megawatts of power. I was made an Honor Recruit by my peers and was then selected to move onto the Ceremonial Guard (Presidential Hon- or Guard). WhatdoyoumissmostaboutMaine? Oh, lobster, for sure! When I was stationed in Maine for the Zumwalt, I was always teaching the guys how to crack lobsters and doing fish bakes at my house. That was pretty neat. What’sbeenyourfavoriteportoutsideofMainesofar? There are unique things to see everywhere you go. Italy is my favorite place. I love Ita- ly. But the biggest culture shock was in the Middle East. I liked experiencing the place, but it was different. Maine is like its own little world, and you don’t always experi- ence different cultures. In the Navy, I’ve met so many different people of different races, backgrounds, creeds. I wish people could see how we act and treat each other in the military and bring that out to the lo- cal community. n Brian Carpenter, 38, Leading Chief Petty Officer of Electrical Division and her fellow pilots in the Navy’s Scien- tific Development Squadron One (VXS-1) flew over the Rocky Mountains, conduct- ing surveys with sophisticated sensors to get a 21st century sense of snowfall, water runoff, and packed snow and its effects on drinking water. “S nowEx was one of my favorite career moments,” Denise says. “NASA has their own P-3s, but they weren’t available for this project, so the squadron that I am currently in (VXS-1) was able to install NASA’s sensors onto our aircraft, and we flew with their scientists and engineers on board. It was a rare oppor- tunity for a pilot in the Navy. And the mis- sion itself was fascinating. We tested differ- ent instruments and their ability to measure snow depth over various types of terrain.” This was critically important research for humanity, not just the military. “Snow is critical to society,” Dr. Edward Kim, NASA’s SnowEx project scientist, has told the Naval Research Laboratory about the study. The Laboratory’s online publication, which features Denise as one of the pilots, “Growing up, I always enjoyed listening to my parents’ stories about all the places they’d traveled.” points out: “More than one-sixth of the world’s population relies on seasonal snow and glaciers for water. As much as three quarters of the water used in the western United States comes from snow.” ust as snow melt transforms water supply, does a family’s love for serving its country create a legacy of ‘doing their bit’? Does one person (let alone two parents!) in uniform deepen the commitment of future generations? One of the inflight technicians in De- nise Miller’s P-3 squadron may have the an- swer. He serves proudly as an enlisted elec- tronics expert (so he could certainly talk shop with Denise’s parents). He weighed in on SnowEx to the Naval Research Lab: “‘It’s incredible working with NASA on a large, scientific project,’ said Naval Air Crew- man (Avionics) 1st Class Rodney Hynes.... ‘I’m going to go home and tell my kids all about it.’” –Colin W. Sargent