From the Office of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy:

This week the Sailor spotlight shines on on Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) 2nd Class Sabrina Agnewrossbauer, a Hilton Head Island, South Carolina native, and while assigned to Navy Information Operations Center, Hawaii, has been filling a direct support billet serving aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS HIGGINS (DDG 76) since May 2022 while the ship is conducting operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

As a member of the ship’s operations department, Agnewrossbauer is responsible for translating and interpreting any communication the ship receives in Mandarin. She said her knowledge of the language as well as the Chinese culture and people is crucial to the ship’s ability to operate safely and confidently in the Indo-Pacific region. Still, she admits that despite her fluency in the language, the job has its challenges.

“Real time translation is the most challenging thing because if you get one thing wrong it can have a major impact,” she said. “But you can’t focus on all the ‘what if’ scenarios and all the things that could happen. You have to tell yourself ‘you know what you’re doing,’ and you have to trust yourself and your abilities. After so much practice and repetition, I’ve gotten a lot more confident in myself.”