Moving from one small town in the American South, to another in the American Southwest, Wes Edens was an average guy with above-average-intellect and a thirst for adventure. A short stint in college and a small mistake left him temporarily unsure of his future...but then he saw the Navy recruiting trailer on the campus of the University of Arizona, and the rest is history. In our recorded Zoom conversation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wes told me about growing up fast and the lessons learned on a gigantic aircraft carrier.