State Partnership Program

Video by Travis Weger

U.S. Navy Reserve Sailor at Defender-Europe 20

Military Sealift Command, Europe and Africa

Feb. 24, 2020 | 0:29

BREMERHAVEN, Germany (Feb. 24, 2020) -- Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Lisa Eakin from U.S. Navy Reserve Expeditionary Port Unit 105 and her team provided logistical support to Military Sealift Command ships transporting cargo for DEFENDER-Europe 20 during their annual training in Bremerhaven, Germany.

In her civilian capacity, Eakin is a traveling emergency room nurse that works with hospitals all across Florida.

"I love having a completely different job with the reserve than I do in my civilian career," said Eakin. "It gives me the opportunity to serve in a different way."

EPUs are reserve units with MSC that can be deployed worldwide in response to events, such as a humanitarian crisis or other military missions.

MSC plays a crucial role in DEFENDER-Europe 20, delivering the more than 1.3 million square feet of U.S. Army equipment using a combination of ships from the MSC surge fleet as well as a number of U.S. flagged commercial merchant ships.