JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Larry Delong is a first-generation military vet tasked with keeping people safe at Naval Station Mayport.
"What keeps me coming through those gates every morning is to keep everybody safe on this installation," Delong said. "Safety is everybody’s responsibility, you know, so we spend a lot of time, you know, talking to our personnel military and civilian about being safe in the workplace, you know, if they see something say something."
He began his Navy career back in 1985 and became interested through a family-friend who served in Vietnam. At the time he was just 17-years-old when his mother gave him permission.
"She told the recruiter to take care of her son, you know how moms can be and the rest is history," he said.
He served 22 years as an aviation grounds technician and ultimately retired on the USS John F. Kennedy
"Towing the aircraft or providing power to the aircraft or air-conditioned unit providing air condition to an aircraft, support equipment that’s what I maintained in the Navy," he said.
He now oversees the base's traffic safety program, which continues to be recognized for its excellence
"Personal motor vehicles Is one of the leading causes of fatalities with our active duty military," he said.
The program is all aimed at decreasing those numbers and includes car and motorcycle training for military families.
"I do enjoy what I do or I wouldn't be coming through the gates every morning but I’ll do it as long as I can," he said.