We Are MSC: First Assistant Engineer Tim McKenna
21 May 2025
WE ARE MSC --
We Are MSC – First Assistant Engineer Tim McKenna
This week’s “We Are MSC” highlights Farmingdale, New York native, Tim McKenna, the First Assistant Engineer aboard the Military Sealift Command expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4).
How long have you worked with MSC?
McKenna: I have been with MSC since December 2019, so just under 5.5 years.
What is your job aboard USS Hershel “Woody” Williams?
McKenna: I am a First Assistant Engineer
What do you enjoy most about working with MSC?
McKenna: I enjoy the travel the most. It's hard to pick just one memory because I have so many. I've gotten to go places I never thought I'd go and see things I never thought I'd get to see. With MSC, I've gotten to go to the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, swam in the Dead Sea in Israel, explored the city Stockholm, Sweden, for 2 weeks, took a 1 week training course on engines in Bergen, Norway, fed and pet giant tortoises in the Seychelles, participated in an Emerald Shellback ceremony (when you cross the Equator and Prime Meridian at the same time), helped commission a new-build ship in San Diego, toured old WWII bunkers and battlefields in Guam, and visited the USS Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor. I also like to eat and try new foods. Everywhere I go I try to sample the local cuisine and eat the foods that area is known for. As a result, I've had some amazing meals that I'd love to eat again, and I've had some not so amazing meals that I will never try again.
As a First Assistant Engineer, how do you support the MSC mission?
McKenna: I support the MSC mission by maintaining the engine rooms of MSC ships. I conduct preventative and emergent maintenance on the equipment in the engine room so that the ship is able to get underway and carry out her mission.