JERRY HRYCYSZYN
Shareholder, Litigation Practice, Wolf Greenfield Lieutenant, US Navy
Q: Please tell us about a brief story or incident from your time in the service that stands out as either funny or touching.
A: As a midshipman in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corp I spent a summer in a foreign exchange program serving with the German Navy. There was a cook on one of the ships that was my doppelganger. One day we switched uniforms and had a fantastic time fooling the crew as to who was who. That summer is one of my treasured memories of my adventures with the Navy. I am the one in the German uniform on the right in the picture below.
Q: What have you taken with you from your service into your career as an attorney? How has that military experience benefitted your work as an attorney?
A: From my time in the military, I learned about the importance of teamwork.
I remember the 67 consecutive days I spent underwater in a submarine somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean. Our mission was to stay undetected. It takes an incredible amount of team work to keep a sub's nuclear reactor running, the life support systems functioning, while steering the sub close to the surface to get messages from Command without broaching the surface and risking satellite detection. My role maintaining a compass heading or depth (you can call it "driving" the sub), was only a small part of the effort required to accomplish the team's goals.
I learned that every team member is valuable and their role, no matter how small it may seem, is critical to the team achieving its goals. I also learned about the importance of leadership by example, and that tasks can be delegated, but responsibility cannot. The team leader always remains responsible for the team. This same attitude toward teams and goals carriers over to contested IP matters like litigation and post-grant matters before the PTAB.
MATT BERG
Chief Information Officer, Wolf Greenfield Ensign, US Navy
Q: Please tell us about a brief story or incident from your time in the service that stands out as either funny or touching.
A: During one of my summer training "cruises" in 1989, I was stationed on the Battleship Missouri (BB-63). In many ways the experience felt like I was transported back in time. I helped holystone (clean/condition) the ship's 14 acres of teak deck. I slept in the middle "rack" of 3 beds that were stacked one on top of another from deck to overhead (floor to ceiling). I stood at the rail at night when the ship was operating under darken ship (no external lights) and was mesmerized by the bioluminescence of the algae as the ocean water struck the hull. And I ate in a mess hall where thousands of Sailors and Marines had eaten before—including those involved in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
For those who may not know, Japan's formal surrender in World War II was signed on board the Missouri, while it was anchored in Tokyo Bay. There is a plaque on the main deck where the ceremony took place. By chance, I was chosen by a bosun to help him clean and polish the plaque and the dome that protected it. Seeing the memorial every day as I walked by was one thing. But being so intimately connected to preserving the plaque which commemorated Japan's surrender was both humbling and extremely moving--especially since the experience of being a member of the ship's crew had already made me feel as though I was somehow a part of the ship's history.
Q: What have you taken with you from your service into your professional career? How has that military experience benefitted your work?
A: I think that a person's character is largely formed before they are old enough to serve in the armed forces. But the Navy drove home for me the importance of acting and serving with honor and integrity. From a more practical perspective, I would say that it's the discipline and time management skills I was forced to acquire (sink or swim!) in the Navy which have served me so well nearly every day of my professional career!
MICHELLE QUINN
IP Administrator, Wolf Greenfield YN1 (E6), US Navy
Q: Please tell us about a brief story or incident from your time in the service that stands out as either funny or touching.
A: In Guam, 1996, our ship had orders to get underway for 'typhoon evasion'. (When a typhoon was severe enough our ship would leave port and travel out of the way of the storm to protect its personnel and assets and to help rebuild/clean when back in port.) My shipmates with spouses and children (some very young) would have to leave them behind to face the storm at home alone or in a military shelter on base. Watching my shipmates do what needed to be done regardless of their worry and the families taking care of what needed to be done at home without their spouses' support was amazing. Thanks to all the Veterans and to their Veteran families!
Q: What did you enjoy most about your time in the military?
A: The travel and adventure!
KEVIN HENRY
Manager of Network Systems, Wolf Greenfield Military Intelligence Specialist (E4), US Army
Q: Please share a little about your time in the military and where you were stationed.
A: I was stationed primarily at Ft. Hood, Texas in the 6th Cavalry Air Combat Brigade. Here's a picture before takeoff in our Blackhawk helicopter.
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