BUNKER HILL, Ind. – A 1997 Maconaquah High School graduate and Peru native is serving in the U.S. Navy’s silent service submarine community on the island of Guam as part of the staff of Commander, Submarine Squadron 15. Senior Chief Jack Durand is a machinist’s mate (auxiliary) serving aboard U.S. Naval Base Guam, supporting Virginia and Los Angeles class fast-attack submarines. As a Navy machinist’s mate (auxiliary), Durand is responsible for the maintenance of forward deployed submarines in Guam. Attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. According to Navy officials, submariners are some of the most highly trained and skilled people in the Navy. The training is highly technical, and each crew has to be able to operate, maintain, and repair every system or piece of equipment on board. Sailors assigned to Submarine Squadron 15 are located at our nation’s most strategically important forward-deployed submarine base, and the missions they conduct are at the tip of the spear of our forward readiness. These Sailors are the forward deployed, first line of defense in the Pacific.