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Navy Week Acts as Homecoming for Wisconsin Native Terry Prince

U.S. Navy
Terry Prince, Force Master Chief of Navy Medicine and Director of the Hospital Corps.

We have miles and miles of shoreline here in southeastern Wisconsin, but it’s not a place you would necessarily associate with the Navy. But the Dairy State is not only home to many veterans, it's also where the U.S.S. Milwaukee was commissioned, and it's a frequent destination for the Navy's Blue Angels. 

"Milwaukee is as much a Navy town as Chicago is," says Terry Prince, Force Master Chief of Navy Medicine and director of the Hospital Corps. 

Prince was in town for Navy Week, a celebration designed as a major community outreach effort with events like Navy band concerts, Navy Day at the Milwaukee Public Museum and a day out at the ballpark with the Brewers. The week's events also included Navy Day at Discovery World, where Prince was the celebrating a homecoming of sorts.

The Milwaukee-area native has been able to travel the world with the Navy, but his family still calls Wisconsin home. While Prince admits there are some downsides to being in the Navy, he believes the sacrifices are well worth the experiences. 

"I think there's always a downside. When you sign up for the Navy, you sign up to know that you could be going to war," says Prince. "What you find out in the long run is that it's actually an upside, an opportunity to protect freedom, and go and take the fight to the enemy. That's an opportunity that we don't take lightly."