Michael Wicker stood at attention in the barracks as the recruit division commander rattled off a list of questions directed at him and his fellow Navy recruits.
They barked: Who isn’t afraid of heights? Who isn’t afraid of public speaking?
Wicker was just a few weeks into basic training after enlisting in the Navy. He knew the commander was helping recruit for a special assignment in Boston, but he had no idea what he was volunteering for.
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He raised his hand anyway.
Soon, Wicker found himself interviewing for a rare and prestigious assignment before he was even out of boot camp. Today, the Greenfield-Central High School graduate is working as a crew member of the USS Constitution, the oldest vessel in the Navy and a timepiece of U.S. military history.
When Wicker enlisted in the Navy after graduating in 2016, he looked at military service as an opportunity to open doors for various career avenues in the future. Out of boot camp, he expected to be trained to become a member of the United States Naval Construction Batallions, also known as the Seabees. Halfway through his initial entry training, however, Wicker was selected to become a crew member on the historic ship, which was launched in 1797; now he’s part carpenter, part instructor and part historian, he said.
Wicker said he and the sailors he serves with are charged with a mission to preserve, promote and protect the ship, he said. For much of his day job, Wicker is an operator in the repair division, performing maintenance on all areas of the wooden ship wherever they’re needed.
But his job requires much more of him beyond being a handyman, he said. Like all sailors aboard the USS Constitution, Wicker is a fully-trained square-rig sailor with the same skill set as any other “swabbie” from the early 19th century.
Wicker and members of the battalion dress in period uniforms and provide tours to visiting civilians and special guests, explaining the history of the ship and giving people context for what life was like for the sailors of old. “Old Ironsides” was a flagship in the young U.S. Navy and famously defeated four British vessels in the War of 1812. It has been on exhibit in Boston off and on since 1897.
“The heritage is crucial,” Wicker said. “We’ve run through the old gun and pike drills, and I can do each one of them.” (Sailors used pikes — long metal-tipped lances — during boarding raids of rival vessels.)
“It’s a very unique command,” he added. “Just today, I went up six or seven stories off the bow and unfurled a sail. How many people get to do that every day?”
For “Navy Week,” Wicker travels with a few of his fellow crew members to area schools and businesses to teach them about the history of America’s seafaring forces. He takes the public outreach portion of his job seriously, because some people may never have another face-to-face interaction with a U.S. sailor, he said. In the short time he’s been stationed aboard the Constitution, Wicker has worked alongside numerous high-ranking military officials, including the secretary of the Navy and the secretary of the Interior.
“At first I was a little nervous talking to a public crowd,” Wicker said. “But now it’s exhilarating to stand in front of a crowd in front of thousands and thousands of people and teach them about the history.”
Wicker was a natural fit to get selected for the assignment, said his mother, Sheila Batten. Growing up in a small town like Greenfield helped him adopt the demeanor and values useful to an official representative of the military, she said. It was quite a feeling to see him take the blue and gold jersey he wore as a running back for the Cougars and trade it for a Navy service uniform, she said.
While she’s proud as his mother, Batten also said she’s proud as a citizen of Greenfield for her home to have such representation on a historic ship.
“It’s an honor to be selected to be part of the crew,” Batten said. “A lot of sailors apply for this, and not a lot get in. It’s a very small crew … It makes me proud that someone who has accomplished so much and will be accomplishing so much more is representing our city.”
Wicker’s advanced training to become a Seabee has been put on hold until he finishes his special assignment with the Constitution, he said. He’s eager to dive into his new career, but he knows he’s fortunate to be where he is now.
In an age of modern naval warfare, the ability to operate a square-rig sailing watercraft isn’t useful in a practical sense, Wicker said. But preserving the historical integrity of the oldest commissioned warship afloat is a mission he’s proud to be a part of.
“There will be nothing else like it,” Wicker said. “And once I leave, I know I’ll understand it truly as a great life experience.”
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Launched in 1797 and named by George Washington after the brand-new U.S. Constitution, “Old Ironsides” is one of the most storied vessels in the history of the Navy. Here are some highlights about the ship:
– The wood-hulled Constitution was one of six original frigate-class warships commissioned for the Navy in the 1790s. She launched in 1797 from a shipyard in Boston.
– “Old Ironsides,” nicknamed for her ability to withstand incoming fire, was involved in numerous conflicts during her 58 years of service, most famously during the War of 1812.
– The USS Constitution never was defeated in battle. It racked up 33 combat victories at sea.
– The USS Constitution weighs 1,576 tons. During the War of 1812, she carried more than 50 cannons. By contrast, modern frigates weigh more than 3,000 tons.
– The ship’s tallest mast stands 189 feet above the waterline.
– “Old Ironsides” has undergone numerous restorations, most recently in 2015. She sits in Boston Harbor and plays host to more than 500,000 visitors a year.
Sources: U.S. Navy, USS Constitution Museum
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