Kristal Dysinger may be one of Regulatory Services’ newest employees, but when you meet her you can’t help but feel you’ve known her for years.
A hometown girl from just across the river in Hartwell, Ga., Kristal will probably be among the first to greet you at the CAT Building, where she’s an administrative specialist and receptionist working with the Director’s Office.
But don’t let her charm distract you. She was equally at home keeping the VFA-86 “Sidewinders” Strike Fighter Squadron ship shape on the USS Enterprise during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Her four years in the U.S. Navy gave her the chance to see the world from new perspectives. From boot camp in Chicago, training in Meridian, Miss., and the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Not to mention the walls of the Coliseum in Rome and Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Or the back of a camel in Dubai.
It also gave Dysinger her first hands-on experience with the administrative systems that keep organizations running smoothly — what the Navy refers to as “administrative aviation work” — such as maintaining log books for black hawk helicopters and fighter squadrons on deployment.
“I had been on a cruise ship before, but never any military vessels,” Dysinger said. “Before I knew it I was on board this floating city. We spent Christmas on the ship. Six long months.
“We stopped in England and Italy on the way home,” she said. “Rome is amazing. They have kept architecture in place from before Christ. At that time i was 25 years old and having the time of my life.”
She left the Navy in 2005 and returned to Georgia, first to Marietta and Alpharetta, but “Atlanta wasn’t the place I wanted to be.”
Her dad called at just the right time and she returned home to Hartwell. The family business, an automotive shop where “they do everything you can do to a car,” needed the skills she had gained in the Navy. She pitched in and the relocation gave her the chance to study at Emmanuel College in nearby Franklin County.
In time she decided she needed some new skills.
“I was interested in taking computer classes at Tri-County Technical College, so I went to their open house and realized the drive wasn’t long at all,” she said.
Then her cousin told her about a job opening at Regulatory Services in Pendleton.
“I had been praying for this kind of job and it seemed the cards were falling into place for me,” she said. “I was thrilled with the interview and the next thing I knew Sandy called me and told me I was selected. I am truly thankful.”
So are we.
