Salem native’s grease monkey past aids his naval career

Salem native and U-S sailor Jonathan Coward is an engineman responsible for equipment used by the navy’s explosive ordnance disposal unit operating out of San Diego, California. Coward works on small boats, engines on the boats, dive gear, and weaponry, and he credits his childhood hobby of working on his dad’s truck as helping him transition into a career. A 2014 Tamassee-Salem High graduate and now a fireman apprentice, Coward and other navy men and women provide combat logistics for the explosive ordnance disposal and mobile diving and salvage commands on the West Coast.