Veteran of the Week - Jonas Carter

By: Ruben Borjas, Jr., Columnist, Montgomery County News
| Published 08/23/2024

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MONTGOMERY, TX -- This week’s Veteran is Jonas Carter, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1991 - 2019. Jonas was a fire controlman early in his career and retired as a Command Master Chief. Carter served on the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship, which carries helicopters, Osprey’s (which lift off like helicopters but moves forward like an airplane when the propellers are pivoted. The ship also carries in its well deck, a Landing Craft Cushion, which is like a big airboat. Carter has served on some awesome aircraft carriers, like the USS Ronald Reagan, USS John C Stennis, USS Harry S Truman, as well as a guided missile cruiser, and several minesweepers. On deployments in the Persian Gulf, Carter noted that Iranian gunboats would shadow his carrier's position. Jonas is proud of being an ambassador of the United States (meaning he was a member of the Navy on foreign soil), when on ports of call and at special duty stations. As he aged in the military, Carter began to understand how important it was for the Navy to make its presence known around The World, with its sailors visiting all the ports. The visits he said instilled “A bit of hope,” to those people that the United States is committed to Freedom across The World. After his retirement, Jonas was an instructor at several Navy schools teaching sailors, then worked for his county in Mississippi (being originally from Michigan). Carter helped a lot of his men over his years of service, and he made a lasting impact. One of his men called him and enticed him down here to work in construction management (being called maintenance management in the Navy). Good Luck Jonas, and Congratulations on being ‘Veteran of the Week’.