According to the New York Times, about .4 % of the U.S. population is active military personnel. With many of its applicants choosing to apply right out of high school or college, about 80% of the pool is rejected, according to Military.com. For Abington High School senior Chris Catrambone, the military has been his “dream since junior high.” 

Catrambone is a team player. This is certainly what the military looks for. At AHS Catrambone has been involved with student council and unified sports. He is also a 4-year varsity lacrosse player and received an Enterprise All-Scholastic award last year for his talents on the lacrosse field.  

This year, he is a lacrosse captain and he played hockey for the first time in his life. Although it was his first year playing this sport, he won the most improved award. Brian Smith, Catrambone’s head coach, said that, “Over the course of the season, I would see him [Catrambone] on the ice early before practice and staying on the ice late after practice. I watched him working on stopping, turning, and skating backwards all by himself just trying to get better. All that hard work paid off as he earned a spot on our playoff roster. I think Catrambone’s work ethic and attitude clearly made him the most improved player.”   

In addition to the qualities of being a team player, having a strong work ethic and perseverance, Catrambone has enthusiasm, too.  

Hockey Captain Brian Cashman (’18) described Catrambone as “A kid the team needed. He was the loudest on the bench, cheering on every player on and off the ice. Always saying ‘c’mon guys we still got this’ when we were losing. He always wanted to get into every game, even the ones he knew he had no chance of getting in.”  

Team sports and co-curricular activities at AHS have taught Catrambone important traits that will serve him well in the military. 

This fall, Catrambone decided to join the Navy. He said that “the Navy recruiters did the best job convincing [him to join] by describing their military experiences.”

Once his high school career is over, Catrambone will be leaving for the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago for boot camp. There, he will not only be training to become a sailor, he will also learn naval history, first aid, military custom, water safety, and marching and drill. This amounts to eight intense weeks before graduating from boot camp. 

In Catrambone’s first year with the Navy, he will be a Naval Aircrewman. Due to his impressive score on the armed services vocational aptitude battery (ASVAB) test, he has qualified to join any special forces branch inside the Navy. He plans to become an explosive ordinance disposal technician (EOD) and plans to start training for this specialty after his first year. For those that do not know about these technicians, Catrambone will “investigate and destroy any underwater biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.” As an EOD technician, he will also “investigate natural and man-made underwater obstructions.” 

When asked what his plans are for after the military, Catrambone said he hopes to become a firefighter because he “wants to give back to communities and save people.” 

We wish Catrambone and all AHS seniors the best of luck in their future endeavors!